Round Rock Work Injury Lawyers: Beyond Workers’ Compensation
Workplace injuries devastate workers’ economic security. When you’re injured on the job, workers’ compensation provides modest benefits—replacement wages and medical expenses. But workers’ compensation does not compensate pain and suffering, permanent disability, or loss of earning capacity. Many injured workers find workers’ compensation benefits inadequate for their actual losses.
McFarlane Law helps injured workers explore recovery beyond workers’ compensation. If your injury resulted from a third party’s negligence, you may pursue additional damages against the negligent party. We maximize your total recovery by pursuing both workers’ compensation and third-party claims.
Work Injury Causes in Round Rock
Round Rock’s industrial and commercial sectors generate workplace injuries:
- Construction Accidents: Falls, electrocution, struck-by incidents, and equipment accidents injure construction workers.
- Manufacturing Injuries: Equipment malfunctions, pinch points, and chemical exposures cause manufacturing injuries.
- Oilfield Accidents: Central Texas’s petroleum operations cause blowouts, explosions, and fatal accidents.
- Inadequate Training: Workers assigned to hazardous tasks without proper training suffer preventable injuries.
- Defective Equipment: Malfunctioning machinery, defective guards, and inadequate safety features cause injuries.
- Unsafe Working Conditions: Inadequate ventilation, poor lighting, and ergonomic hazards cause injuries.
Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims
Texas workers’ compensation provides benefits for work injuries without regard to fault. If you’re injured on the job, you’re entitled to workers’ compensation benefits regardless of whether your employer was negligent. However, workers’ compensation is a one-way street—you can’t sue your employer even if negligence caused your injury.
But you CAN pursue claims against third parties. If another company’s negligence contributed to your injury, you can sue that third party. Examples include:
- Equipment manufacturers (defective machinery or safety guards)
- Contractors (unsafe work practices affecting your safety)
- Property owners (unsafe premises conditions)
- Suppliers (defective materials or supplies)
- Other companies (unsafe operations affecting your workplace)
Work Injury Damages
Third-party work injury claims allow recovery for damages beyond workers’ compensation:
- Pain and suffering (not available under workers’ compensation)
- Lost earning capacity (permanent reduction in earning ability)
- Physical impairment
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Mental anguish and PTSD
- Disfigurement
Why McFarlane Law for Work Injury Cases
Maximizing Recovery: We coordinate workers’ compensation claims with third-party lawsuits to maximize total recovery.
Third-Party Identification: We identify all potentially liable third parties and pursue claims against them.
Product Liability Expertise: For defective equipment injuries, we pursue product liability claims against manufacturers.
No Fee Unless You Win: We work on contingency basis.
Contact McFarlane Law After a Work Injury
If you’ve been injured at work in Round Rock or Central Texas, contact McFarlane Law immediately. We’ll explore all recovery avenues and fight for maximum compensation. Your future is our fight.
McFarlane Law – Your Future. Our Fight.
—Frequently Asked Questions
Does my employer have workers’ compensation insurance in Texas?
Texas is the only state where workers’ compensation insurance is optional for private employers. Many large companies (Dell, Kalahari Resort, construction contractors) carry workers’ comp, but many smaller employers—especially in construction and service industries—do not. ‘Non-subscriber’ employers who opt out lose critical legal defenses: they cannot claim contributory negligence, fellow servant rule, or assumption of risk as defenses. Non-subscriber employees can sue directly for full damages. McFarlane Law determines your employer’s subscriber status before advising your legal options.
Can I sue my employer for a workplace injury in Round Rock?
If your employer is a Texas workers’ compensation subscriber, your remedy is typically limited to workers’ comp benefits—you generally cannot sue the employer directly. However, if your employer is a non-subscriber (opted out of workers’ comp), you can file a full personal injury lawsuit with access to all compensatory damages and the employer loses its standard defenses. Additionally, if a third party (equipment manufacturer, subcontractor, property owner) caused or contributed to your injury, you can sue that third party regardless of your employer’s subscriber status.
What if a third party caused my workplace injury in Round Rock?
Many workplace injuries involve third-party negligence separate from your employer: defective machinery or equipment (product liability against the manufacturer), a negligent subcontractor on a multi-employer worksite, a delivery driver who causes an on-road injury, or a property owner whose dangerous conditions contributed to the accident. Third-party claims allow recovery of full damages—including pain and suffering and lost future earnings—that workers’ comp does not cover. McFarlane Law pursues both workers’ comp benefits and third-party claims simultaneously when applicable.
What benefits can I recover after a workplace injury in Round Rock?
Workers’ comp benefits include medical treatment coverage, temporary income benefits (70–75% of average weekly wage during recovery), impairment income benefits (for permanent impairment ratings), and supplemental/lifetime income benefits for severe disabilities. Workers’ comp does NOT cover pain and suffering, full lost wages, or many consequential damages. If you have a third-party claim or non-subscriber employer lawsuit, you can recover full economic damages plus pain and suffering, physical impairment, mental anguish, and disfigurement.