Work Injuries are Often the Most Severe.
Work-related injuries are often among the most serious of injuries we see at the firm. On a seemingly ordinary workday, the victims of Texas workplace hazards can see their lives altered forever and for the worse. They lose an arm or a leg. They’re blinded or brain-damaged. For the sake of their job, the victim becomes a dramatically reduced version of the person that clocked in.
No Workers Comp? No Problem.
To protect employees in the tragic event of a work injury, employers often buy a particular type of insurance called workers’ compensation insurance, also known as “workers’ comp.”
However, not all employers carry workers’ comp. This is particularly the case in Texas, which is the only U.S. state that does not require its employers to purchase workers’’ comp.
Texas workplace injury victims may be initially disheartened when told by an employer that the company does not have workers’ comp. Such employers will also often attempt to dissuade the injured employee from speaking with an attorney while insisting that the company does not have the money to pay for medical treatment.
But if you or a loved one ever find yourself in such a position, do not give up hope. At a minimum, reach out to the attorneys at Hyde Trial Tribe and never allow an employer to convince you otherwise. After all, your employer is potentially liable for what could prove to be an incredibly valuable claim.
Allow us to explain why below.
Under Texas law, an employer who does not purchase workers’ comp coverage is often referred to as a “non-subscriber” (i.e., the employer is not subscribing to workers’ compensation insurance).
Workplace injury claims against non-subscriber employers will be governed by a different set of laws than than claims against employers with workers’ comp. These differences in laws directly affect your claim for compensation in a number of ways, but the differences with nonsubscriber cases are good for the victim.
While there are a multitude of differences between workers’ comp claims and non-subscriber claims, the following are four key differences that separate non-subscriber claims from less desirable workers’ comp claims.
- Proving Fault
A workers’ compensation benefit is an insurance benefit. Specifically, it is a “no fault” insurance benefit, meaning the injured worker does not have to prove that the employer did something wrong in order for the victim to receive workers’ compensation benefits. In fact, injured workers can still recover workers comp benefits even if their injuries were caused by the workers’ actions alone.
By comparison, in non-subscriber cases, the injured worker must prove that the employer did something wrong to cause the worker’s injuries. Fortunately, it is relatively easy to meet this burden because unlike other types of lawsuits, which require proof by a preponderance of the evidence, a plaintiff in a non-subscriber case must only show that he or she was not 100% at fault for his or her own injuries. In other words, the injured worker need only prove that the employer was 1% at fault for causing the worker’s injuries. 1%.
- Better Compensation
The compensation awarded to a victim will differ from case to case. Generally speaking, however, a non-subscriber case will be more valuable than a workers’’ comp case all else being equal.
Why?
In a workers’’ compensation case, an injured worker can be reimbursed for his or her medical expenses and roughly 70 percent of his or her lost wages. But if the work injury permanently disabled the victim or the injury was so severe that it caused the victim change job positions, the victim would not be entitled to any lost wages or lost earning capacity for the wages and benefits, but would be limited to receiving partial long-term wage benefits at best.
By comparison, in a non-subscriber case, the victim would be entitled to full compensation for his or her lost wages (in full) and a reimbursement of all medical bills.
- Pain and Suffering Damages / Punitive Damages
In a workers’ comp claim, a victim is not entitled to money damages for pain and suffering or mental anguish. In a non-subscriber case, however, the victim can recover money damages for pain and suffering as well as money damages for mental anguish. These are among the most valuable types of damages sought at trial, so this difference is critical.
Punitive damages are money amounts awarded to a victim to punish an employer. In workers’ comp claims, the victim can recover punitive damages if the worker died from his or her injuries. By stark contrast, in a non-subscriber case, the victim can recover punitive damages even if the victim survives. That is, in a non-subscriber case, the victim can recover punitive damages from an employer by proving that the employer’s gross negligence caused an injury or death.
- The Venue for Legal Proceedings
A workers’ compensation claim starts as an insurance claim that you open with an insurance company. It is not a lawsuit you file in a court of law against your negligent employer.
What if the workers’ comp insurance company improperly denies your workers’ comp claim. Or refuses to pay a reasonable amount?
In that situation, you still cannot file a lawsuit against your employer. Rather, your next line of recourse is to file an administrative appeal with the Texas Department of Insurance. The administrative appeal process is, again, not the same thing as a lawsuit. It is a bureaucratic process, with cookie-cutter and streamlined proceedings.
Compare that with your options against a non-subscriber employer. With non-subscriber injuries, you can immediately file a lawsuit and demand that your case be presented in a court of law before a jury of your peers. In terms of a prospective award, a jury trial is much better for the victim.
Our Firm Understands Non-Subscriber Cases
Hyde Trial Tribe attorney Rich Hyde has transformed injured workers into multi-millionaires on more than one occasion. Those results began with one meeting. If you or a loved one was injured on the job, call our firm today. Tell us more about what happened. We listen. We care. And we know how to leverage the law to make things right in your lives.