Plaintiff's Petition - Workers' Compensation Retaliation

NO. _______________

Plaintiff

v.

Defendant

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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF

_______________, TEXAS

______ JUDICIAL DISTRICT

PLAINTIFF’S SECOND AMENDED PETITION

COMES NOW plaintiff complaining of Defendant and for cause of action would respectfully show the Court and jury as follows:

Discovery Control Plan

Plaintiff has conducted discovery under Level Two in accordance with Rule 190.3, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.

Parties

Plaintiff is an individual residing in _______________, Texas. Defendant formerly employed plaintiff as a _____________ in _______________, Texas, and at all relevant times plaintiff was an “employee” within the meaning of Tex. Lab. Code Ann. § 451.001.

Defendant is a municipality and a unit of local government under the laws of the State of Texas. Defendant has filed an answer and appeared for all purposes.

Jurisdiction and Venue

This Court has jurisdiction of the parties and of the subject matter of this suit.

Venue is proper in _______________, Texas by reason of the provisions of SectionÊ15.002(a)(1), Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, since all events forming the basis of this suit occurred in this county.

Facts

Plaintiff was employed for more than __ years in defendant’s Police _______________ from _______________ to _______________, the effective date of his/her discharge.

Defendant promoted plaintiff on two occasions. In _______________, defendant promoted him/her from _______________ to _______________, and in _______________ defendant promoted him/her to _______________. _______________, defendant’s _______________, has attributed plaintiff’s advancement to his/her _______________.

The vast majority of a _______________’s job duties were _______________ in nature. Defendant had a written job description for plaintiff’s position, which expressly made allowance for changes in job duties so as to permit reasonable accommodations for a _______________ with disabilities.

On _______________, plaintiff’s supervisor made a written evaluation of his/her job performance and gave him/her an overall rating of _______________. This evaluation was consistent with prior evaluations, and plaintiff’s official personnel record contains a number of commendations for outstanding performance. _______________ has given high evaluations of plaintiff’s job performance, and has made the following written observations: “_______________.”

On _______________, plaintiff went to a _______________ to _______________. As he/she exited his/her _______________ and approached the area, he/she stepped into a hole, causing him/her to fall and suffer injuries to his/her _______________. Plaintiff suffered serious injuries, including a _______________.

In connection with this work-related accident, plaintiff instituted a workers’ compensation claim in good faith. On _______________,_______________, the second highest ranking _______________ in the _______________, prepared an Employer’s First Report of Injury or Illness for submission to the Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”). _______________, defendant’s _______________ at that time, submitted a Supplemental Report of Injury to the TWC on _______________.

On _______________, plaintiff went on temporary total medical disability leave due to his/her work-related injury. Defendant did not contest plaintiff’s claim and he/she received _______________ temporary disability benefits. In accordance with defendant’s policy, defendant made supplemental payments to plaintiff while he/she was on disability leave. The amount of the supplemental payments was the difference between plaintiff’s salary and the workers’ compensation payments.

Approximately _______________ after plaintiff instituted his/her workers’ compensation claim, _______________ asked _______________ how plaintiff was progressing medically and when he was expected to return. _______________ was also present. _______________ told _______________ that plaintiff would not return to his/her employment with defendant and made a negative remark about his/her leave status.

While he/she was on temporary medical disability leave during the period of _______________ to _______________, plaintiff requested _______________ on several occasions to permit him/her to work in a light duty capacity since most of his/her regular duties were _______________ in nature. On each occasion _______________ refused plaintiff’s request and advised him/her that...