Hit by Another Driver While Driving a Company Truck

Attorney Answer

Getting hurt on the job in a crash caused by someone else usually gives you two separate claims, and they run on different clocks. One is against the driver who hit you. The other is a workers' compensation claim, if your employer carries coverage. Missing the deadlines on the second one is the mistake that costs people the most.

The claim against the other driver is an ordinary injury claim. Texas rules of the road supply the standard: Tex. Transp. Code § 545.351(a) provides that "An operator may not drive at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances then existing," and § 545.351(b)(2) requires a driver to control speed as necessary to avoid colliding with another vehicle that is on or entering the highway in compliance with law. Fault is then divided under Chapter 33: § 33.003 has the trier of fact assign each party a percentage, § 33.001 bars recovery if your own share is greater than 50 percent, and § 33.012(a) reduces your damages by your percentage if it is 50 percent or less.

Workers' compensation is a different track and does not depend on who caused the crash. Tex. Lab. Code § 408.001(a) provides that "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." That bar protects your employer. It does not protect the driver who hit you, who is neither your employer nor your co-worker, so the claim against that driver survives. Note that Texas lets employers go without coverage at all; a non-subscriber employer is outside § 408.001, which changes the analysis, so find out which kind of employer you have.

The comp deadlines are short. Tex. Lab. Code § 409.001(a) requires the employee, or someone acting for the employee, to notify the employer of an injury not later than the 30th day after the injury occurs. Tex. Lab. Code § 409.003 requires a claim for compensation to be filed with the division not later than one year after the injury occurred. Sections 409.002 and 409.004 excuse a late notice or claim only in limited circumstances, such as the employer's actual knowledge or good cause, so do not rely on an exception.

One more thing to expect: if workers' compensation pays your medical bills or lost wages, Texas law generally gives the party that paid an interest in what you later recover from the at-fault driver. The rules for how that is handled change what a settlement is actually worth to you. Ask a lawyer about it before you settle anything.

What you can do

1. Report the injury to your employer in writing now, and keep a copy — Tex. Lab. Code § 409.001(a) sets 30 days from the injury.

2. Get medical care and tell the provider the back pain started with a work crash, so the record connects the two.

3. Ask your employer, in writing, whether it carries workers' compensation coverage and for the carrier's name and claim number.

4. Request the officer's crash report from the investigating agency.

5. Report the crash to the vehicle's insurer and to your own auto insurer.

6. Ask a Texas lawyer how to run the injury claim and the comp claim together before you accept any offer on either. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. The claim against the other driver is governed by Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a), two years from the day the cause of action accrues; the comp deadlines in Tex. Lab. Code §§ 409.001(a) and 409.003 are much shorter. Which dates apply to you depends on your facts — have a Texas attorney review them promptly.