An Employers Deliberate
Failure to Protect Workers from Coronavirus Exposure may be Actionable.
Whether or not you were an essential employee during shelter in place orders or
returned to the workplace after those orders were lifted, you might have faced
an unreasonable risk of COVID-19 exposure if your employer failed to take
reasonable steps to minimize that hazard.
If you or someone you
know contracted COVID-19, and you believe your employer was at fault, you might
be able to get compensated for your injuries. On some cases you might be
limited to filing a workers compensation claim, but in others where the
employer is a non-subscriber you might be looking at a personal injury
lawsuit.
Even if the employer is a subscriber under the Texas Workers
Compensation Act, in certain cases regarding the death of the employee, the
surviving spouse or heirs of the deceased employee may still bring a personal
injury lawsuit for exemplary (punitive) damages against employer if the death
was caused by an intentional act or omission of the employer, or by the employer’s
gross negligence. Texas Labor Code
Chapter 408, Section 408.001, reads as follows:
Sec. 408.001. EXCLUSIVE
REMEDY; EXEMPLARY DAMAGES. (a)
Recovery of workers' compensation benefits is the exclusive remedy of an
employee covered by workers' compensation insurance coverage or a legal
beneficiary against the employer or an agent or employee of the employer for
the death of or a work-related injury sustained by the employee.
(b) This
section does not prohibit the recovery of exemplary damages by the surviving
spouse or heirs of the body of a deceased employee whose death was caused by an
intentional act or omission of the employer or by the employer's gross
negligence.
(c) In
this section, "gross negligence" has the meaning assigned by Section
41.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
Gross Negligence in turned means an act or
omission: which when viewed objectively from the standpoint of the employer at
the time of its occurrence involves an extreme degree of risk, considering the
probability and magnitude of the potential harm to others.
Cases where Employers forced their employees to come to the workplace, failed to provide any Personal Protective Equipment, remained open for business during shut down order even though they were not an essential service provider, will certainly met the gross negligence standard.
If you or your loved one suffered injuries from Covid 19 due to an employer’s gross negligence call Big Dan at (956) 287-3653.
