If you work for a non-subscriber employer who has opted out of providing workers’ compensation benefits, you will have additional hurdles to navigate in order to obtain compensation after a workplace accident. You must prove that your employer’s negligence caused your accident and injuries. However, even if you can prove your employer was just ten percent at fault, you could be entitled to full compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Records your employer is required to keep for the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) regarding workplace injuries and illnesses could help you prove that your employer was negligent.

Person going through filing cabinetWhat Record Keeping OSHA Requires

OSHA has enacted detailed federal regulations outlining employers’ responsibilities to maintain records of workers’ illnesses and injuries on the job—whether or not the employer was at fault. The rules apply to most employers with ten or more employees. Illnesses or injuries that result in any of the following must be reported:

  • A worker’s death
  • The worker taking days off work
  • The worker being placed on restricted work duties or reassigned to a different job
  • Medical treatment other than first aid
  • The worker’s loss of consciousness
  • A diagnosis of a significant illness or injury by a doctor or other licensed health care provider

Any work-related death must be reported within eight hours, and an amputation, loss of an eye, or worker hospitalization must be reported within twenty-four hours.

How OSHA's Reporting Records Could Help Your Case

OSHA requires employers to maintain their records of work-related illnesses and injuries for five years. A summary of the prior year’s injuries and illnesses must be posted each February through April and will need to be submitted electronically by most employers to OSHA beginning in 2017. Employers must also provide a copy of these records to employees, former employees, and their representatives upon their request.

The required report provides important information about the accident, such as who was injured, how the injury or illness occurred, the outcome, whether the worker was off work and if so, for how long, and more. This information could help your case in the following ways:

  • Shows that another worker had a similar accident to yours
  • Leads to evidence that your employer knew of the dangerous condition that caused your injury or illness and failed to correct the problem
  • Shows that this is a long-term problem if more than one employee had a similar accident
  • Leads to witnesses that could help prove your employer’s negligence
  • Results in other leads that your attorney can investigate that may result in evidence helpful to your case

Have You Been Injured At Your Texas Job And Your Employer Doesn't Provide Workers' Compensation?

If you've been injured on the job and your employer is non-subscriber you need to speak with an experienced work injury lawyer as soon as possible. Contact us online or call our our Dallas Ft Worth area office directly at 817.485.8888 to schedule your free consultation.

David Hart
Connect with me
Helping victims throughout Fort Worth, Arlington, North Richland, Grapevine, Bedford, Hurst and points between