Workplace Injury Attorney — Conroe & Greater Houston, TX

Texas is the only state that does not require most private employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Employers who opt out are called non-subscribers. If your employer is a non-subscriber and you are injured on the job, you can sue them directly in civil court for negligence.

Texas law strips three key defenses from non-subscribing employers: they cannot argue that your own negligence contributed to the injury (contributory negligence), that you assumed the risk of the work (assumption of risk), or that a co-worker’s negligence was responsible (co-worker fault). Removing these defenses significantly improves the injured worker’s ability to recover full compensation. Texas employers must post notice if they are non-subscribers; an attorney can verify your employer’s status immediately.

Yes — both claims can be pursued simultaneously. Workers’ comp covers your medical expenses and partial lost wages while your third-party claim is built and litigated. However, if you receive workers’ comp benefits and also recover in a third-party lawsuit, your employer’s workers’ comp carrier typically has a right to be reimbursed from your third-party recovery through a subrogation lien.

The lien amount is not always the full amount paid — it can often be negotiated down. An attorney can structure your claims to run concurrently and negotiate the subrogation lien to maximize the net amount you actually receive after both claims are resolved.

Report the injury to your supervisor the same day if at all possible — Texas workers’ comp claims require reporting within 30 days, and delayed reporting can be used against you in any claim. Seek medical attention promptly and follow all prescribed treatment. Photograph the scene, your injuries, and any equipment involved before anything is moved or repaired. Collect witness contact information.

Most importantly: do not sign any documents or give a recorded statement to your employer, their insurer, or any third party’s insurer before speaking with an attorney. Non-subscriber employers sometimes present their own claim forms that may waive rights. Contact us for a free consultation first — it costs nothing and protects everything.

A third-party civil claim allows recovery of all damages available in a standard Texas personal injury case — past and future medical expenses, full lost wages and lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, disfigurement, and loss of consortium for a spouse. In cases involving gross negligence or malice — such as an employer who knowingly ignored OSHA safety requirements — exemplary damages under CPRC Chapter 41 may also be available.

This is substantially broader than workers’ comp, which covers only medical expenses and approximately 70% of lost wages, with no non-economic damages of any kind. The difference between a workers’ comp-only resolution and a successful third-party civil claim can be significant — particularly for catastrophic injuries with long-term consequences.

For a third-party civil claim, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003 provides a two-year statute of limitations from the date of injury. For workers’ comp subscriber claims, you generally must report to your employer within 30 days and file a claim with the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation within one year. These are separate deadlines — missing either can bar the corresponding claim.

Contact an attorney promptly after any serious workplace injury. Evidence on job sites changes quickly — equipment gets repaired or replaced, crews move on, and employer records may be purged. An attorney can send preservation demands and secure the evidence your case depends on before it disappears.