Can an Employer Use the “Self-Inflicted Injury” Defense in Texas?
Non-Subscribers Arguments in Work Injury Law: Self-Inflicted Injury In Texas, our state's labor laws allow employers to opt in or opt out of providing workers' comp coverage. As such, there are benefits that they become entitled to if they do subscribe, and there are penalties if they don't; nonetheless, workplaces get to make that ultimate...
What Is the Commonly-Known Hazard Defense in Work Injury Cases?
Non-Subscriber Employer Defenses: Commonly Known Hazard Defense One of the goals of the Texas Legislature when they passed the Workers' Compensation Act was to eliminate lawsuits between employers and employees. To this end, the legislature greatly reduced the number of defenses available to employers when they are sued by an employee after a work injury...
When Can an Employer Use the Routine Job Defense?
Employer Defenses in Texas Non-Subscriber Cases: Routine Job Defense: Texas law gives employers the option of whether or not they wish to participate in the Worker's Compensation System. Employers who opt into the system, subscribers, provide work injury insurance for their employers in exchange for immunity from negligence lawsuits. Those who choose not to participate...
What is Course and Scope of Employment?
Texas employers are only liable for injuries that happen in the "course and scope of employment". If you have been injured at your place of work, your employer will often try to avoid paying for your work accident. To avoid paying, employers will often argue that an injured worker was acting outside the course and...
What is the Pre-Existing Injuries Defense?
Non-Subscriber Defense Argument: Pre-Existing Condition Under the Texas Labor Code, employers have the option to opt in or out of workers' compensation coverage. If they choose to opt out of workers' compensation coverage, they are considered "non-subscribers." When an employer is a non-subscriber, an employee must sue the employer and prove damages in order to...
What Are the Elements that Must be Proven in a Texas Non-Subscriber Work Injury Case?
Elements of a Texas Non-Subscriber Work Injury Case In this article, Texas work injury attorney Michael Grossman will explain what the elements of a Texas non-subscriber case are and how an attorney proves these elements in court. Questions answered on this page: What are the elements of a Texas non-subscriber case?How do non-subscriber cases differ...
How Do You Determine the Value of Your Injuries in a Work Injury Case in Texas?
How much are my non-subscriber work injuries worth? If you've been injured on the job in Texas and your employer is a non-subscriber to worker's compensation, then you probably want to know how much your case is worth. Unlike subscriber cases, there's no guaranteed, formulaic compensation in Texas non-subscriber cases. Each case is different, so...
How Can Expert Witnesses Be Used in a Work Injury Case in Texas?
Expert witnesses can be invaluable to your Texas work injury case. A lot of people are under the impression that attorneys are the only experts they'll need on their case. But in truth, some topics are so technical that its best to have a bona fide subject matter expert to explain the technical nuances of...
How Do You Prove the Value of a Work Injury in Texas?
How do I prove the value of my non-subscriber work injury? In Texas non-subscriber work injury cases, a lot of emphasis is placed on proving the employer's negligence. But that's only one part of the case. The other big component in a non-subscriber case is proving the value of the case, such that a jury...
What Are Some Important Statutes and Case Law to Consider in a Non-Subscriber Work Injury Case in Texas?
Texas Non-Subscriber Work Injury Law and Relevant Cases In this article, we're going to cover the important statutes and court decisions that have shaped Texas non-subscriber work injury cases. Questions answered on this page: What does the law say about non-subscriber cases?What case law is relevant to non-subscriber claims?How can a lawyer help me in...
How Does Having Insurance Differ from Being Covered by Workers’ Compensation in a Work Injury Case in Texas?
Just because your employer has "insurance" that doesn't mean that they have a worker's comp policy. Texas is the only state in the country that doesn't require all companies within its borders to carry worker's compensation insurance for their employees. Consequently, injured workers may find themselves working for an employer who opts into the state's...
What Are Some Frequently Asked Questions about Non-Subscriber Work Injuries in Texas?
Texas Workers' Compensation: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) In the State of Texas, there are basically two types of work injury claims. If your employer has a workers' compensation policy approved by the State Department of Insurance, then when you file an injury claim, you receive automatic benefits. However, employer enrollment in workers' compensation is not...
What’s the History of Non-Subscriber Work Injury Law in Texas?
A History of Texas Non-Subscriber Law Texas work injury law allows for companies to either subscribe to the state-run workers' compensation plan or to opt out. Companies who opt out are classified as a "non-subscriber." The defining characteristic of non-subscribers is that, unlike companies who opt in to workers' comp and are provided with lawsuit...
How Does the Injury Caused by Recreational Activity Defense Work in a Workers’ Comp Case?
Texas Workers' Comp Defense: Recreational Activity Defense When Texas established its workers' comp system, it was based on the idea that injured workers traded their right to sue their employer for injury-related negligence, in exchange for a set of guaranteed, no-fault benefits. These benefits are workers' compensation benefits, issued by their employer's insurance carrier, if...
What Is the Contributing Injury Defense in a Texas Workers’ Comp Claim?
Texas Workers' Compensation Defense: Contributing Injury Under Texas law, there are 8 defenses that employers can use to deny injured workers their workers' comp benefits. While workers' comp is a system that is theoretically supposed to cover a worker's injuries irrespective of fault, the following defenses highlight exceptions to this general rule: Act of GodEmployee...
What Is the Not in the Course and Scope of Employment Workers’ Comp Defense?
Texas Workers' Compensation Defense: Employee Was Not Within Course and Scope of Employment Despite Texas workers' comp being a supposed no fault system, meaning that employees don't have to prove negligence to collect benefits, a number of defenses built into the workers' comp system allow employers and insurers to dispute many otherwise deserving claims. Perhaps...
Does Workers’ Comp Still Provide Benefits if an Employee Was On Drugs or Alcohol?
Texas Workers' Compensation Defense: Employee Was Injured While Intoxicated The Texas Workers' Compensation system was created to allow employees, who work for businesses that subscribe to workers' compensation coverage, to receive automatic benefits that act as compensation for people who are injured while working. Before workers' compensation came into existence, work injury cases were treated...
What Is the “Coworker Intentionally Hurt Employee” Defense in a Texas Workers’ Comp Claim?
Texas Workers' Compensation Defense: Intentional Harm Inflicted by Another Employee Defense The whole idea behind Texas' workers' compensation system is that employers can either opt out of or opt in to it. If an employer opts out of workers' comp coverage, their injured workers can sue them. However, when a Texas-based company opts in to...
Can Insurers Deny Workers’ Comp Benefits by Alleging an Injury Was Deliberately Self-Inflicted?
Texas Workers' Compensation Defense: Injury Was Self-Inflicted With Texas workers' compensation coverage, one of the main goals is to have a somewhat simple process for employees to receive automatic compensation for work related injuries. The past system in Texas required employees to go through a lengthy lawsuit in order to receive any benefits or compensation...
How Does the Act of God Defense Work In Texas Workers’ Comp Cases?
Texas Workers' Compensation Defense: Act of God. The Texas Workers' Compensation Act of 1993 created 8 defenses that employers can argue in an attempt to avoid paying workers' comp benefits. If successfully applied by the employer, these defenses have the affect of completely destroying the injured worker's ability to be compensated. In this article we'll...