With temperatures sometimes exceeding 110 degrees, working outside in Houston is no joke. Construction workers, roofers, landscapers, and other laborers spend hours working in direct sunlight. Day laborers are often exposed to heat-related illnesses like burns, dehydration, and heat-stroke.
However, the truth is that many heat-related work accidents are not just limited to heat stroke. Heat exposure can cause dizziness, weakness, confusion and loss of coordination, which increases the risk of falls, vehicle crashes, machinery accidents and other traumatic injuries. OSHA also warns that excessive workplace heat can cause serious illness or death and impair a worker’s ability to recognize dangerous situations.
What this means is that many injuries suffered when temperatures start to soar are indirectly caused by a company’s inability to recognize impaired workers, or refusal to accomodate heat-related illnesses.
On This Page
- What Counts as a Heat-Related Work Accident?
- When Can Heat Exposure Become Negligence?
- Does Texas Require Employers to Provide Heat Breaks?
- How Did the Texas “Death Star Bill” Affect Workers in Houston?
- Can You Sue Your Employer for a Heat-Related Injury in Texas?
- Who Else May Be Liable after a Heat-Related Injury in Houston?
- Evidence in a Workplace Heat-Injury Claim
- What Should You Do After a Heat-Related Work Accident in Houston?
- Speak With a Work Accident Lawyer in Houston
What Counts as a Heat-Related Work Accident?
Some workers suffer direct heat illnesses. These can include:
- Heat exhaustion
- Heat stroke
- Severe dehydration
- Kidney injuries
Others are injured when heat affects their ability to perform a dangerous task safely. Some long-term illnesses can be associated with heat stress and prolonged physical exertion and can lead to kidney damage and other serious complications.
A forklift operator may lose focus or coordination, and cause injury to another person. A refinery worker may become confused while working near chemicals, pressurized equipment or moving machinery. In these cases, heat may be an important cause of the accident even when the primary injury is a fracture, burn, brain injury or amputation.
New employees, temporary workers and people returning after time away may be especially vulnerable because their bodies have not fully adjusted to working in hot conditions. Heavy protective clothing, radiant heat, limited airflow and strenuous physical labor can further increase the danger of heat-related injuries.
When Can Heat Exposure Become Negligence?
Employers and companies controlling a worksite must not ignore obvious heat hazards. Depending on the circumstances, negligence may include:
- Failing to provide accessible drinking water
- Denying reasonable opportunities to rest
- Ignoring heat warnings
- Requiring an employee to continue working after heat-related symptoms appear
- Allowing an employee to continue working after refusing to take a rest or water break
Warning signs of negligent employers include production quotas that discourage breaks, inadequate training, poor emergency procedures and the failure to gradually acclimatize new or returning workers.
A successful work claim generally requires evidence that a person or company owed the worker a legal duty, failed to use reasonable care and caused or contributed to the injury.
Does Texas Require Employers to Provide Heat Breaks?
Technically – no. Texas does not currently have a statewide law guaranteeing every private employee a fixed heat break after a set number of hours. However, that does not mean employers may expose workers to recognized heat hazards without taking reasonable precautions.
OSHA states that employers must comply with the General Duty Clause and other applicable standards to protect employees from heat illness. This typically mean providing water, rest and shade, with more frequent or longer rest periods as heat stress increases.
While OSHA has proposed a federal heat-injury prevention standard, that proposal has not been finalized.
How Did the Texas “Death Star Bill” Affect Workers in Houston?
House Bill 2127, formally called the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act and commonly known as the “Death Star bill,” took effect on September 1, 2023. It added Texas Labor Code Section 1.005, which limits the authority of cities and counties to adopt or enforce private-employment regulations in fields occupied by the Texas Labor Code.
The law expressly identifies breaks, scheduling practices, employment benefits and other terms of employment. In practical terms, it restricts Texas cities from creating their own mandatory heat-break rules unless another state statute expressly authorizes them to do so. In other words, under the Death Star Bill, Houston cannot impose its own requirements to require companies to provide heat breaks.
This reduced the ability of local governments to establish protections stronger than existing state or federal requirements. However, HB 2127 did not make water or rest breaks illegal. Nor did it eliminate federal workplace-safety obligations, prevent employers from adopting stronger heat policies or give businesses blanket immunity when unsafe conditions cause injury.
Most importantly for an injured worker, the bill does not eliminate negligence claims against a Texas non-subscriber employer or claims against responsible third parties. Its primary effect was on local regulatory power – not on the underlying rules of civil liability.
Can You Sue Your Employer for a Heat-Related Injury in Texas?
If you and your injury are not covered under a worker’s compensation agreement, then yes.
Employers With Texas Workers’ Compensation Coverage
Most private employers in Texas may choose whether to carry workers’ compensation insurance. An employer that carries qualifying coverage is known as a subscriber. The Texas Department of Insurance provides a system for verifying whether an employer had coverage on the date of an accident.
When the employer is a subscriber, Texas Labor Code Section 408.001 generally makes workers’ compensation benefits the employee’s exclusive remedy against that employer for a work-related injury.
However, the existence of workers’ compensation coverage does not necessarily end an investigation. The worker may still have a separate claim against another company that caused or contributed to the accident.
For example, a general contractor may have controlled the work schedule and refused heat breaks. A property owner may have controlled a dangerously hot facility. Another contractor may have created unsafe conditions or failed to follow a sitewide heat plan.
Texas Labor Code Section 417.001 permits an injured employee to pursue damages from a liable third party, although a workers’ compensation carrier may have reimbursement or subrogation rights against part of the recovery.
Employers Without Workers’ Compensation Coverage
An employer that does not carry Texas workers’ compensation coverage is commonly called a non-subscriber. An injured worker may be able to sue a non-subscriber employer directly for negligence.
Texas law also limits several defenses available to a non-subscriber. When the employer’s negligence caused or contributed to the injury, the employer generally cannot rely on contributory negligence, assumption of risk or the negligence of a fellow employee as a defense. This means that the employees they hire and contractors they work with are all the responsibility of the employer.
One example of a heat-related injury case might involve a supervisor who refused repeated requests for water, ignored visible symptoms, required strenuous work during dangerous conditions or failed to provide any practical way for workers to cool down.
Who Else May Be Liable after a Heat-Related Injury in Houston?
Heat-related work accidents frequently occur at locations where several companies operate at the same time. Potentially responsible parties may include a:
- General contractor or subcontractor
- Staffing company
- Property owner or facility operator
- Equipment or safety-product manufacturer
- Commercial driver or outside vendor
Liability often depends on control. An investigation should determine who established the schedule, supervised the worker, controlled access to water and cooling areas, enforced production requirements and was responsible for site safety.
Evidence in a Workplace Heat-Injury Claim
Heat cases can become difficult to prove after the weather changes and the worksite returns to normal. Important evidence may include temperature and humidity records, heat advisories, shift schedules, timecards, break policies, training materials and written plans regarding heat safety.
Texts and witness statements may show that workers requested water or rest and were refused. Surveillance video can establish how long the worker remained in the heat and whether supervisors noticed symptoms. Medical and EMS records may connect the conditions to dehydration, heat illness or a secondary fall or equipment accident.
What Should You Do After a Heat-Related Work Accident in Houston?
Obtain medical care immediately and tell the provider that the symptoms or accident occurred during workplace heat exposure. Report the incident in writing, preserve messages about water or breaks and record the names of coworkers who saw what happened.
Avoid signing releases or private benefit documents before understanding how they may affect your claim. Your best bet for receiving compensation after a heat-related injury is to call an experienced attorney.
Speak With a Work Accident Lawyer in Houston
Houston’s extreme temperatures can turn a normal workday into a dangerous one. If you suffered heat exhaustion, heat stroke, dehydration, or another heat-related injury on the job, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages. Employers have a responsibility to provide a safe working environment, including reasonable protections against excessive heat.
Hilda Sibrian has represented injury victims in heat and work accident claims in Houston for over 22 years. If you or someone you love has been seriously injured or killed due to your company’s negligence, you need to call an experienced Houston attorney as soon as possible. Our team is here to review your case, explain your legal options, and fight for the compensation you deserve.
The Law Offices of Hilda Sibrian serve all of Houston and Texas, including Sugar Land, Missouri City, La Porte, Beaumont, Pasadena, The Woodlands, The Heights, Bellaire, Kingwood, Baytown and of course Houston proper.
Call the Law Offices of Hilda Sibrian today for a free consultation, or fill out our online contact form.
