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Houston Worker Sues For Workers’ Comp Firing After Accident
Posted on Nov 18, 2010
Did you know that it is absolutely illegal for a company to fire you for filing a workers’ compensation claim? This month in Memorial, Texas, a worker is suing his employer after he claims he lost his job after seeking Texas workers’ compensation benefits.
The workplace injury incident took place at Biffle Water Well Service, also known as Complete Production Services, where worker Ronald Eugene Clay was working on a drilling rig outside of Houston. While on the job, Clay was hit in the mouth while pulling pipe – an accident that resulted in two of his teeth coming out and a serious cut on his mouth.
While his employer did not allow him to leave the drilling rig in order to go to a doctor, the company did appear at his house that night to conduct a drug test. Later that week, Clay went to a dentist to get pieces of tooth removed from his lip and to fix exposed nerves in his mouth as instructed by the workers’ compensation committee. When he returned to work three days later, he was fired despite the fact that he passed his drug test. He believes that his job loss was directly related to his accident and his workers’ compensation claim.
Clay has asked for a trial by jury in the Harris County District Court. According to the Ultimate Memorial, he is suing for actual damages, unliquidated damages, exemplary damages, medical costs, physical pain and mental anguish in the past and future, court costs. It is unclear whether this company has faced similar workers’ compensation allegations in the past.
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