Law Office of Alan Tysinger

Wrongful Termination and Retaliation in Texas Workers' Compensation

What remedies are available in a workers' compensation wrongful termination claim?

What remedies are available in a workers' compensation wrongful termination claim? If an employee is terminated in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claiming good faith, hiring an attorney, or testifying in a workers' compensation proceeding, the employer is liable for damages under the Texas Workers' Compensation Act: Sec. 451.002.... Read more →

What if an employee is fired from a healthcare facility for being COVID positive after having been exposed at the workplace?

What if an employee is fired from a healthcare facility for being COVID positive after having been exposed at the workplace? You would have multiple issues. CARES Act provisions would make employee eligible for specific unemployment benefits. Exposure at workplace would make it a potential workers' compensation case. The termination... Read more →

What does a wrongful termination lawyer do?

What does a wrongful termination lawyer do? In Texas, an employee without a specific contract term is considered an "at-will" employee, one that can be fired for a good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all. There are some exceptions to this-- an employer cannot fire an employee based... Read more →

Workers Compensation Retaliation: Being a Witness in a Hearing

You can't prove you were hurt on the job without evidence, and sometimes the best evidence is the eyewitness testimony of a co-worker. A co-worker can testify that he saw you fall and hurt yourself. She might testify that she overheard you tell the supervisor about the accident and injury,... Read more →

Workers Compensation Retaliation: Requesting a Hearing

An employee doesn't have to take the insurance company or employer's denial of benefits as the last word in a workers compensation case. Often the insurance company may have incomplete facts to support the denial, or they may even just deny a claim for benefits and wait for the employee... Read more →

Workers Compensation Retaliation: Hiring a Lawyer

Another red flag in a wrongful termination case is the timing of the termination relative to when the employee hired an attorney. The Texas Labor Code protects the right to seek legal counsel in a workers compensation case: Sec. 451.001. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EMPLOYEES PROHIBITED. A person may not discharge or... Read more →

Workers Compensation Retaliation: Filing a Claim

One of the biggest fears in Texas workers compensation after an injury is this: Is my job safe? Will I be fired? The answer to that gets complicated. I'll try to sort through this in a series of posts. The first step is to define what we are talking about.... Read more →

I have been fired from my job because I filed workers' compensation. What can I do?

Texas is generally considered to be an at will employment state. What that means is your employer can terminate you without reason. One exception to this that occurs in a Worker’s Compensation context is that an employer cannot terminate you in retaliation for you filing a workers compensation claim, or... Read more →

Can I sue the employer?

Can I sue the employer? If they are covered by a policy of workers' compensation insurance and you are injured on the job, you cannot sue them even if their negligence caused the accident. There are exceptions (applicable in some cases where the injury results in death), and even if... Read more →