Being injured at work is stressful enough. Then you find out your employer doesn’t carry workers’ compensation insurance, and suddenly you’re wondering what to do.
That concern is justified.
The choices you make early on can affect your medical care, the evidence in your case, and the compensation you may be able to recover. You need to understand your options before your employer takes control of the situation.
Keep reading to learn what steps to take, what compensation may be available, and when it makes sense to call an experienced attorney.
What Is a Non-Subscriber Employer?
Before we get into what you should do after the injury, you need to know why a non-subscriber claim works differently.
In Texas, a non-subscriber employer has chosen not to carry workers’ compensation insurance through the state system. This means you can pursue your employer directly if unsafe equipment, poor training, weak supervision, or another form of negligence caused your injury.
Non-subscriber injuries often turn into a fight over medical care, evidence, and who should pay.
Learn the difference between workers’ comp and a non-subscriber claim here.
Here’s What to Do After Getting Hurt at a Non-Subscriber Job
Use these steps to protect yourself, lock down key evidence, and stop your employer or their insurer from twisting the facts or pushing you into a bad deal.
Get Emergency Medical Help
Getting out of danger and treating any serious injuries should be your first priority. Call 911 or get to an emergency room if you have heavy bleeding, severe pain, trouble breathing, confusion, numbness, or another urgent symptom.
Don’t let a supervisor pressure you into finishing your shift or waiting to see whether you improve. That delay could make your injury worse, and the company may later use it to downplay what happened.
Follow your doctor’s work restrictions. If they tell you to stop working, stay off the job until you’re cleared or your restrictions change. Unless you need emergency care right away, tell your employer before you leave.
Report the Injury to Your Employer
Once your immediate medical needs are under control, report the injury in writing. An email or letter creates a clear record of when the company learned what happened and what you told them.
Include the date, time, location, and a short explanation of the incident. Stick to what you know. Don’t guess about why equipment failed or who caused the injury.
Get a copy of the incident report. If the company prepares it, ask for it before you leave or as soon as possible afterward. If they refuse, write down who said no, when you asked, and the reason they gave.
Keep your own record of every call, meeting, email, and text about the injury. Note who was involved and what was said. Don’t assume the company’s version will include every detail that helps you.
Watch for retaliation, too. Save proof if the company cuts your hours, threatens you, changes your duties, fires you, or suddenly starts writing you up.
Documente su tratamiento médico
Tell every doctor, nurse, therapist, and other provider that you were hurt at work. Explain what you were doing, how the injury happened, and where you feel pain. Be clear. Don’t exaggerate, but don’t downplay your symptoms either.
Stick with your treatment plan. Go to your appointments, attend therapy, take your medication, and follow your work restrictions. Gaps in care give the company room to argue that you recovered or that the injury wasn’t work-related.
Keep copies of your medical records, bills, test results, work notes, and discharge instructions. Ask your doctor to note how the injury happened and whether your symptoms match what happened on the job.
The company may claim you have to see a doctor they choose. You don’t. Since your employer is a non-subscriber, you can choose your own physician. Don’t sign anything that limits your doctor or treatment options without speaking to an attorney first.
Preserve Evidence from the Workplace
Take photos as soon as you safely can. Start with wide shots of the whole area, then get close-ups of broken equipment, missing guards, spills, exposed wires, damaged ladders, or anything else that looks unsafe. Don’t expect the company to leave the scene alone.
Take down the names and contact information of anyone who saw what happened or knew about the hazard. Management may not give you a full witness list later, and some coworkers may go quiet once the company starts asking questions.
Keep any damaged clothing, shoes, safety gear, or personal tools connected to the injury. Don’t wash, fix, alter, or throw anything away. Those items may help prove your case.
Save work emails, texts, safety notices, training materials, schedules, and memos related to the incident. Timecards and shift records can also show who was nearby, what area or equipment you were working with, and how long the hazard had been there.
Handle Insurers and Adjusters Carefully
An adjuster may sound friendly, but they’re working for the company. Their goal is to limit how much they pay.
Don’t give a recorded statement or accept an early settlement without getting legal advice.
Document every call, email, and offer. Write down the adjuster’s name and what they said. Be careful with verbal promises and talk to an attorney before you sign anything.
What Defenses Can’t a Non-Subscriber Employer Use?
When Texas employers opt out of the workers’ compensation system, they give up several legal defenses that could otherwise work against you.
A non-subscriber can’t dodge responsibility by claiming you accepted the risk, blaming a coworker, or arguing that you were partly at fault. Texas law takes those defenses off the table.
The company may still try to claim that you alone caused the injury. That’s why you need solid evidence to tie your losses to unsafe equipment, poor training, weak supervision, or another failure by the company.
What Types of Compensation Can I Pursue in a Non-Subscriber Claim?
A non-subscriber injury claim can cover many types of damages, including your past and future medical costs. Hospital care, doctor visits, surgery, therapy, medication, testing, and medical equipment all fall under this category.
You can also pursue the money you lost while recovering. If the injury keeps you out of work or forces you into a lower-paying job, your claim may include lost earning capacity.
Pain, emotional suffering, scarring, physical limitations, and loss of enjoyment may also be included.
In extreme cases, punitive damages may be available. Those damages are meant to punish especially dangerous conduct, but you’d need to prove that the company showed an extreme disregard for others’ safety.
Can Arbitration Agreements or Waivers Affect My Case?
Some non-subscriber employers require workers to resolve injury claims through arbitration instead of filing a lawsuit in court. In those cases, a private arbitrator will hear the dispute and decide the outcome.
These agreements may affect what evidence you can obtain, how the hearing is handled, who pays certain costs, and whether the final decision can be challenged. Don’t rely only on the company’s explanation of what the agreement means.
Bring your employment contract, handbook, benefit plan, arbitration agreement, and injury paperwork to an attorney. Important deadlines and restrictions may be buried in the fine print.
The same goes for any waiver, release, resignation agreement, or new arbitration form the company gives you after the injury. They may call it routine paperwork, but signing it could limit your rights as a non-subscriber employee.
How Long Do I Have to File a Non-Subscriber Injury Claim?
In most Texas personal injury cases, you have two years to file a lawsuit. But some claims come with shorter notice rules or different deadlines, especially when a government entity, minor, private benefit plan, arbitration agreement, or third party is involved.
Some injured workers wait until the deadline is close to take action. That’s a mistake.
Video may be deleted, equipment may be repaired or thrown away, and witnesses can become harder to reach. Your employer may also have much shorter internal reporting deadlines.
The sooner you act, the more time your attorney has to preserve evidence, identify who may be responsible, and protect your claim.
How Can an Attorney Help Me With My Non-Subscriber Case?
An experienced attorney can immediately demand that your employer preserve video, equipment, electronic data, training records, maintenance files, and safety documents. This can prevent valuable evidence from slipping away while you’re still receiving medical treatment.
Your lawyer may also help coordinate medical care through letters of protection when appropriate. These arrangements can allow you to receive treatment while your claim is pending, depending on the provider and the facts of your case.
An attorney can deal with adjusters, request complete records, review benefit-plan documents, investigate third parties, and challenge unfair settlement tactics. They can also examine any arbitration agreement, waiver, or employment contract that may affect your claim.
Serious non-subscriber cases should be prepared for trial from day one. A lawyer with experienced investigators, qualified experts, and complex-case resources can build a strong case long before negotiations begin.
Contacto Grossman Law Offices Hoy
After a workplace injury, the last thing you should have to do is fight with your employer over compensation.
Luckily, you don’t have to go up against them alone.
Grossman Law Offices has more than 35 years of experience handling serious workplace injury cases across Texas. We know how non-subscriber employers and their adjusters operate, and we know how to push back when they try to minimize what happened.
Your case evaluation is free, and you won’t pay attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. Our team is available 24/7 to answer your questions and explain what to do next.
Contact Grossman Law Offices as soon as you can to learn about your options and protect your claim.
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