Texas Lets Employers Opt Out of Workers’ Compensation
Texas stands entirely alone among the fifty states in how it chooses to handle workplace injuries. Under Texas Labor Code Chapter 406, private employers in the state are not required to carry workers’ compensation insurance of any kind at all. An employer that chooses not to participate is legally called a non-subscriber, and roughly one in five Texas employers currently operates this way today, leaving a substantial share of the state’s workforce without traditional workers’ comp coverage. This unique system has existed in Texas since 1913, making it far from a new, untested, or experimental approach to handling workplace injuries.
Why This Actually Works in an Injured Worker’s Favor
Losing workers’ compensation coverage sounds like it should hurt an injured employee, but Texas law flips the usual trade-off. Under Texas Labor Code Section 406.033, a non-subscribing employer loses several important common-law defenses it would otherwise have available in a lawsuit, including the defense that the employee’s own negligence contributed to the injury, the defense that a coworker’s negligence was instead responsible, and the defense that the employee knowingly assumed the risk of the job. Losing all three of these common-law defenses at once significantly shifts the overall balance of a lawsuit in the injured worker’s favor, compared to a typical negligence case.
What an Injured Worker Has to Prove Instead
Without workers’ compensation, an injured employee of a non-subscriber cannot simply file a claim for guaranteed, no-fault benefits. Instead, the case becomes a full negligence lawsuit, which requires showing that the employer failed to use reasonable care in providing a genuinely safe workplace. Evidence commonly used to establish this kind of negligence includes:
- Failure to hire enough qualified workers to safely complete a given task
- Inadequate training or ongoing supervision of employees performing the work
- Failure to warn workers about known hazards present at the job site
- Failure to provide safe equipment or properly inspect it for defects beforehand
An El Paso work injury lawyer can help identify which of these theories genuinely fits a specific workplace accident, since building a negligence case looks very different from filing a standard, straightforward workers’ comp claim.
Why Damages Can Look Very Different Too
Because a non-subscriber case proceeds as an ordinary lawsuit rather than a workers’ comp claim, the available damages are broader as well. Workers’ compensation generally caps and structures benefits according to a fixed statutory schedule, while a negligence lawsuit filed against a non-subscriber can pursue full compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. The team at Davie & Valdez P.C. evaluates a case with this broader potential recovery in mind from the very outset, since it can change the entire strategy behind how a claim gets valued and negotiated with the other side.
How to Find Out Whether Your Employer Is a Non-Subscriber
Many workers simply do not realize their employer has opted out of the system until well after an injury has already occurred. Checking the workplace notice required by law to be posted, asking the employer directly, or checking with the Texas Department of Insurance’s Division of Workers’ Compensation can all help confirm an employer’s actual status. An El Paso work injury lawyer can also help verify this status quickly after an accident occurs, since it shapes the entire legal strategy going forward from the very first meeting with an attorney.
Acting Quickly After a Workplace Injury
Because a non-subscriber case is a negligence lawsuit rather than an administrative claim, preserving evidence of the unsafe condition, gathering witness statements, and documenting the injury properly from the very outset matters considerably more than it would in a standard workers’ comp case.
If you were hurt on the job in the El Paso area and are not sure whether your employer carries workers’ compensation coverage, speak with our team about your situation and what options may be available.