The Alfred Firm recently finalized a life-changing, but confidential, settlement on behalf of a scaffold-builder who suffered career-ending injuries at a refinery located in Orange, Texas. Following this settlement, The Alfred Firm enforced a lien waiver which resulted in a much larger recovery to our client's pocket.
Refineries Use Indemnification Clauses and Lien Waivers to Exert Power Over Sub-Contractors
Agreements between refineries and their subcontractors often include two provisions that have implications on litigation involving contractor employees that suffer injuries: 1) the Indemnification Clause and 2) the subrogation waiver [often called "lien waiver" language. Generally, an indemnification clause requires the contractor companies to pay for the costs associated with defending lawsuits brought by the contractors' employees against the Refinery and to pay for any settlements reached in the litigation. A subrogation waiver essentially prevents the contractor companies from seeking contribution from the Refinery even if the contractor's employee's injury was caused by the Refinery. While in many ways these clauses pit the contractor company against its own employees, contractor companies regularly sign these agreements because the Refinery gives them no choice.
The Dangerous Consequences of Indemnification Clauses and Lien Waivers
The purpose of lien waivers and indemnification clauses is simple: Refineries want assurances that, once they've paid a contractor company for its work, the contractor’s employees won’t come back later to hold them responsible for injuries that may happen on-site. It is not hard to imagine the reason a contractor company will threaten an injured employee's co-workers with termination for statements and testimony that places responsibility on the refinery after an incident.
Further, if a contract worker is injured on the job, liens may be asserted by the contractor employer’s worker’s compensation carrier if there is a pending suit. This will result in the contractor employee having to reimburse the worker’s compensation carrier for all medical payments and wage replacement paid on to them directly out of their personal injury settlement or verdict. Depending on the extent of their injury, medical costs alone can be thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.
At times, we have seen employers claiming their injured employee caused his or her own injuries out of negligence in order to maintain their working relationship with large refineries. It’s a horrible situation to be injured while at the workplace. It is even worse when your employer claims you caused your own injuries.
The Alfred Firm is Experienced in Fighting on Behalf of Injured Contractor Employees
The Alfred Firm protects our clients from the consequences indemnification clauses and lien waivers by analyzing the agreements between the Refineries and contractor companies to determine if our client's employer agreed to a lien waiver. In our most recent settlement, The Alfred Firm aggressively negotiated with a workers compensation insurance carrier to enforce a lien waiver. This resulted in over $100,000 of medical bills and wage replacement being covered wholly by insurance without a penny being reimbursed out of our client's settlement proceeds.
The Alfred Firm has received national recognition for successfully obtaining record-breaking results for refinery workers in Jefferson County and surrounding counties. This case was handled by Founder Byron C. Alfred, Trial Lawyers Johnny Alfred III and Kai Henderson, and Chief of Staff Amanda Zubire.
Kai Henderson is a trial lawyer who passionately advocates for the best interest of her clients. Her practice is currently dedicated to 100% litigation in all areas of The Alfred Firm including wrongful death, premises liability, and truck accident cases. Kai's precision, strategy, and unparalleled attention to detail ensures clients receive quality representation that brings top results.
