Workers Comp: Non-Subscribers
This Blog was brought to you by the J.A. Davis & Associates, LLP – Accident Injury Lawyer principal office in San Antonio
Nonsubscriber Work Injury Attorney – Personal Injury Lawyers
Injury and Death Claims Against Workers’ Compensation Non Subscribing Employers
About 45% of Texas companies do not participate in the state-run workers’ compensation program. This classification of an employer is called a nonsubscriber. If you have been injured on the job and your employer is a nonsubscriber you will not get automatic compensation as you would if your employer subscribed to workers’ comp. In fact, your rights are quite different. More Information here
This article will explain your rights, the compensation you can receive, and how to successfully pursue that compensation. The nonsubscriber workers’ injury attorneys of our firm have been winning these cases for over 20 years. Please feel free to contact us to further discuss your work-related accident.
Where Do Nonsubscriber Laws Come From?
Technically, there is no such thing as nonsubscribers’ work injury law. The way it works is that our legislator has passed very specific laws regarding the rights of an injured worker whose employer does subscribe to workers’ compensation and these laws are codified in the Texas labor code. When the employer opts out of this system there is no hard and fast set of rules that says an employer can do X, Y, and Z; instead, your rights are derived from the common law. As such, your rights mirror the natural rights that a plaintiff would typically have in any other personal injury case.
What Is So Different About Nonsubscriber Cases?
The primary difference between nonsubscriber and workers’ comp cases is that in a nonsubscriber case you typically have to litigate against the employer in order to force them to accept responsibility and force them to pay you. Whereas in a workers’ compensation case there is the presumption that the employer is inherently liable and the benefits you get are automatic.
Is My Employer Inherently Liable?
No. Since a nonsubscriber work injury case is based on common law principles, you are required to prove that your employer was negligent in some fashion. If you cannot prove that the employer was negligent then you simply do not have a valid claim. In other words, just because you were injured on the job does not mean your employer was responsible in a nonsubscriber case. You must prove they caused your injury directly or indirectly.
How Much is My Case Worth?
Again, in a nonsubscriber case, you can sue your employer for all your damages, rather than receive just the paltry benefits that someone who has a workers’ compensation case is eligible to receive. To determine the value of your case you must simply add up all of your individual damages and weigh that against known jury verdicts. Damages that are compensable in a nonsubscriber case are:
Loss of earning capacity
Impairment
Both future and past medical expenses
Compensation for suffering
Juries are not particularly biased against plaintiffs. So in most nonsubscriber work injury cases, we can typically recover the entirety of your damages because a jury is likely to award the entirety of your damages. (On the contrary, in certain parts of Texas, even if you win your case, a jury will pay you less money than what your case is worth.)
More Great Law Blogs Here:
https://www.gultanoff.com/workplace-accident-injuries-fatal-forklift-accidents/
https://www.jlezman.com/advocating-for-injured-workers/
https://www.michiganlawattorney.com/champions-for-injured-workers/
https://www.griffithlaw.net/lawyers-specializing-in-workplace-accidents/
https://www.leslie-gladstone.com/a-guide-to-workplace-injury-lawyers/
https://www.dirfirm.com/workplace-accidents-the-safety-net-you-deserve/
https://www.kimpersonalinjury.com/why-you-need-work-related-injury-attorneys/
https://www.mcdowellforster.com/navigating-injuries-with-lawyers-specializing-in-workplace-accidents/
https://www.jividen-wehnert.com/workplace-injury-lawyers/
https://www.daytonlitigators.com/when-work-turns-risky-finding-workplace-accident-legal-help/
https://www.enniscoleman.com/blindsided-by-a-workplace-injury/
https://www.sandrajpeake.com/the-importance-of-workplace-injury-legal-representation/