Many employers think it’s clever to dodge responsibility for employee injuries by calling you a contractor rather than an employee to begin with. Now sometimes that might be true. But most of the time, many of them say their employees are contractors (or subcontractors) and essentially try to pass the blame (and liability) down the line. It’s a daisy chain of non-responsibility that has been going on since the day driller John fell down and broke his hip on Dad Joyner’s Daisy Bradford rig in East Texas. By claiming this, your employer tries to use that technicality to deny the existence of an employer-employee relationship between you and his company. Their claim: “Why should we be responsible for an injury to a person who was never our employee to begin with?” More on this website
But just because these drilling employers hire their employees as contractors or as temp workers through a third-party doesn’t make it so! Many times the employer knows a true employer-employee relationship exists and the injured employee has the right to obtain compensation against this non-subscriber. So don’t be misled by this subterfuge. A skillful, well-seasoned oilfield accident lawyer knows how to disprove this employer denial of liability and corroborate the employer-employee relationship by meeting at least one the following standards:
Social security or taxes have been withheld from your paycheck by your employer.
The essential equipment for the job was supplied to you by your employer.
Your work has been regularly managed, overseen or inspected by your employer.
A specific work schedule has been set for the job by your employer. You are not free to come-and-go as you please.
Your employer requires you to complete a task or sign a document that limits your rights while working for the employer. The most common examples are taking a drug test or signing a document that states you comply with an employee handbook.
You have been employed for an undetermined period of time and not just for a single job.
You are paid by a salary or an hourly wage and not on a job-by-job basis.
In cases where a worker is borrowed from another company, or a third-party agency, the rules for determining the working relationship are related, but there can be some crucial differences. Some of these conditions may include:
If the borrowing employer has the power to hire or fire a borrowed worker at any time, the worker is clearly an employee. Otherwise, the worker is a contractor
Most of the time, if the borrowing employer is allowed to pick a particular worker, then the worker is an employee. If the agency that provides the worker is allowed to send any worker they choose, the worker is a contractor.
If the worker must provide them, that person is a contractor. If the employer provides them, the worker is an employee.
If the employment agency can substitute the borrowed worker for another at-will, the worker is a contractor. If the lending agency cannot, then the worker is an employee.
If the worker is borrowed indefinitely, then the worker is an employee. If the worker is borrowed for a specific project with a specific date of completion, the worker is a contractor.
If a worker is being borrowed or “leased” because of a skill that is unique or hard-to-find, then the worker is a contractor. But on the other hand, if an employer borrows a worker to fill a position that just about anyone can fill, then the worker is an employee.
If the borrowing employer agrees to pay the worker’s social security and income tax, then the worker is an employee. If the borrowing employer does not accept this responsibility, then the worker is a contractor.
Our Law Firm conducts a thorough investigation to demonstrate the existence of at least one, and often many, of these standards to clearly prove an employer-employee relationship existed for you. We depose co-workers, review contracts and examine pay stubs and other financial documents to establish that you were, in fact, an employee when you suffered that serious on-the-job injury.
A couple wrinkles on this topic that might come into play: if you were hired by an employment agency to work at their “client employer’s” company and suffered a workplace-related accidental (or your loved one was killed), your oil and gas rig injury lawyer must determine if the employment agency has workers’ comp. If so, then you would file a workers’ comp claim against the agency, and a third party claim against the company where the work was actually performed. Also, if your employer loaned you out to another company and the accident occurred there, the issue of workers’ comp subscription with your employer must be answered first and the company where you suffered your injury will likely be treated as a third-party defendant in any civil claim or suit.
Workers’ comp claims are less-than-adequate when major injuries are involved: including wrongful death. So the traditional way for an employee or surviving family to recover fair damage compensation is to file a workers’ comp claim against the employer of record if it applies, and then supplement the claim with the appropriate number of third party claims or lawsuits. And if worker’s comp doesn’t apply to your accident liability scenario in any way, then its straight non-subscriber claims or cases across-the-board.
Put our years of experience to work for you. If you want to know what your rights are, how to proceed with your claim and the level of compensatory damages you can win from your oilfield injuries, we can answer your questions. Call our Law Firm now at 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation and find out how we can help you.
More great articles here:
https://www.personal-injury-attorney-san-antonio.com/oilfield-accident-attorney/
https://www.personal-injury-lawyer-san-antonio.com/oilfield-and-offshore-platform-accidents/
https://www.personal-injury-lawyer-san-antonio.com/west-texas-oilfield-injuries-attorney/
https://truckaccidentattorneysa.com/the-role-of-federal-and-state-agencies-in-investigating-accidents/
https://www.texastruckaccidentattorneys.com/oilfield-accident-laws-by-state/
https://www.no1-lawyer.com/common-injuries-in-oilfield-accidents/
https://san-antonio-auto-accident.com/dealing-with-insurance-companies-after-an-oilfield-accident/
https://el-paso-auto-accident.com/determining-fault-in-oilfield-accidents/
