The Texas Tribune just released an article concerning the vast number of injuries suffered by Texas workers every year. The Tribune focused on the poor documentation of those injuries, noting that poor documentation doesn’t just mean poor paperwork – it often means the difference for a worker on whether the worker gets proper medical coverage covered by insurance, as opposed to being forced to rely on government aid and public programs. This means the taxpayers are often picking up the tab while the business responsible for the bills gets off free of charge. The article can be found here.
The article noted that although the government typically counts about three million serious work-related injuries every year throughout the nation, that number represents only a fraction of the true number–citing the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration report published last March. Because of the attitude many businesses have, many workers are even afraid to talk to their employers about their workplace injuries for fear of losing their job or other type of retaliation. Many workers have to turn to the public assistance programs, which is an additional burden on the taxpayer. And other workers don’t get the proper care they need for their injuries in a timely manner, which can result in even greater expense further down the line.
The Texas Tribune does a good job identifying the problem that employees have known for years. Hopefully, the legislatures across the nation will take note of the long-term expense these actions are causing and provide injured workers more remedies, while saving the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
If you or someone you know has been injured in a workplace accident, contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling (713) 222-7211 or toll free at 713-222-7211.