Recovering Compensation When Your Employer Does Not Have Workers’ Comp Insurance
In all states but Texas, most employers are required by law to either carry workers’ compensation insurance or qualify to be self-insured. Texas, however, has no such requirements for most employers. What are your rights if you’re hurt while working for an employer who does not subscribe to the Texas workers’ comp program? How do you recover any losses suffered?
Workplace Injuries in Texas
According to the Texas Department of Insurance, three of every four employers in Texas subscribe to the state workers’ compensation system. Accordingly, most injured workers will have access to workers’ compensation benefits. If, however, your employer has opted out of the system, you must take legal action through the courts. Here’s what that will typically look like:
- Step One—Get the medical attention you need. Because you won’t be seeking workers’ compensation benefits, you’re free to choose who treats you and what type of treatment you receive.
- Step Two—File a personal injury lawsuit for damages, naming your employer and all other potentially responsible parties as defendants. There are advantages and disadvantages to filing a civil suit:
- Damages–With a workers’ comp claim, you can recover only lost wages and reasonable and necessary medical expenses. In a civil lawsuit, you can also seek compensation for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of companionship or consortium. Accordingly, the potential damages may be significantly higher.
- Proof—With a workers’ comp claim, there’s no need to establish that your employer was negligent. To recover workers’ compensation benefits, you need only show that you were injured and that the injury was incurred during the course of your employment. In a civil lawsuit, however, you must show that the defendant (your employer or another defendant) failed to act reasonably under the circumstances, causing an accident that led you to suffer actual losses.
- Timing—With a workers’ comp claim, if you are approved, you’ll start receiving benefits within a month or two. When you file a civil lawsuit, it may be several months or even years before your case goes to trial. Unless you settle early, you may not see any compensation for a long time.
- Step Three—Gather and preserve evidence. Once your complaint is filed, you’ll go into the discovery process, where both parties seek to gather as much evidence as possible to support their respective positions. The court establishes a deadline by which discovery must be completed. Typically, it may last for months and possibly over a year. Discovery generally includes depositions of parties and witnesses, written questions and answers (known as interrogatories), and requests for production (of documents and other physical evidence).
- Step Four—Prepare for trial. Once discovery is complete, the court typically hears motions by one or both parties, either with respect to dismissal of the claims or regarding the admissibility of evidence at trial.
- Step Five—Once all pre-trial proceedings have been completed, a trial will be scheduled. The trial should look just like any other personal injury trial based on allegations of negligence.
Contact the Aggressive Workplace Injury Attorneys at Bailey & Galyen
At the law offices of Bailey & Galyen, we offer more than 40 years of experience to people across Texas who suffer any type of personal injury, including people hurt on the job. We understand the unique laws of Texas, particularly when a person suffers a work-related injury while employed by a company that does not subscribe to the Texas workers’ compensation system.
We will aggressively advocate for you at every stage of a personal injury lawsuit, from the filing of your claim and investigation of the facts through settlement or trial, if necessary. In our decades of law practice, we have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for clients in Texas and nationwide. Contact us by e-mail or call our offices at one of the convenient locations listed below. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
