Texas is the only state where private employers can choose not to carry workers' compensation insurance. About 28% of Texas employers operate as "non-subscribers," which means hundreds of thousands of Texas workers have no guaranteed safety net if they get hurt on the job. Understanding how the system works — and what to do when it doesn't — can be the difference between getting the help you need and getting nothing at all.
You have only 30 days to report a work injury to your employer and 1 year to file your claim with the Texas Division of Workers' Compensation. Missing these deadlines can permanently destroy your right to benefits.
How Workers' Comp Works in Texas
Most states require employers to carry workers' compensation. Texas does not. Private employers can opt out entirely, with no special exemption required. The only employers required to carry coverage are government entities and private contractors working on public projects.
Employers who carry workers' comp are called "subscribers." Their employees get access to medical benefits and income replacement through the insurance system — but give up the right to sue their employer for negligence. Employers who opt out are "non-subscribers," and their injured workers must file a personal injury lawsuit to recover anything.
The system is administered by the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation (TDI-DWC).
What Benefits Does Workers' Comp Cover?
Medical Benefits
Workers' comp pays for all reasonable and necessary medical care related to your work injury — doctor visits, surgery, prescriptions, physical therapy, and medical devices. There is no cap on medical benefits. If your employer uses a Health Care Network (HCN), you must use in-network providers.
Income Benefits
If you miss more than 7 days of work due to a compensable injury, you become eligible for income benefits. Texas provides four types:
Temporary Income Benefits (TIBs) pay 70% of your average weekly wage (75% for lower-wage workers) for up to 104 weeks while you recover. The current maximum is $1,271 per week.
Impairment Income Benefits (IIBs) begin after you reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI). Your doctor assigns an impairment rating, and you receive 70% of your average weekly wage for 3 weeks per percentage point of impairment.
Supplemental Income Benefits (SIBs) are available to workers with impairment ratings of 15% or higher who still can't earn at least 80% of their pre-injury wage after IIBs run out.
Lifetime Income Benefits (LIBs) are reserved for catastrophic injuries — total blindness, loss of both hands or feet, paraplegia, quadriplegia, severe burns, or traumatic brain injuries requiring 24-hour care. These pay 75% of your average weekly wage with a 3% annual cost-of-living increase, for life.
Death and Burial Benefits
If a work injury results in death, eligible beneficiaries receive 75% of the deceased worker's average weekly wage. A surviving spouse receives benefits for life (unless remarriage, which triggers a 2-year lump sum). Children receive benefits until age 18, or 25 if enrolled in college full-time. Burial benefits cover up to $10,000.
The Claims Process Step by Step
Step 1: Report the injury to your employer within 30 days. Do this in writing with details of how and when the injury happened. Report immediately if possible — delays weaken your claim and give the insurance carrier reasons to deny it.
Step 2: Get medical treatment. If your employer uses a Health Care Network, you must see an in-network doctor. Your treating physician will report the injury to the insurance carrier.
Step 3: Your employer reports to the insurance carrier. They must file DWC Form-001 within 8 days of learning about the injury.
Step 4: File your claim with TDI-DWC within 1 year. Submit DWC Form-041 online, by mail, or by fax. Missing this deadline can permanently eliminate your right to benefits.
Step 5: Claim review. The insurance carrier investigates. If approved, benefits begin. If denied, you enter the dispute resolution process — first a Benefit Review Conference, then a Contested Case Hearing before an administrative law judge, then the Appeals Panel, and finally district court if necessary.
What If Your Employer Doesn't Carry Workers' Comp?
If your employer is a non-subscriber, workers' compensation benefits are not available to you. Your only path to compensation is a personal injury lawsuit against your employer.
Here's where it gets interesting: Texas law removes three of the most powerful defenses employers normally have. Under Texas Labor Code Section 406.033, non-subscriber employers cannot argue contributory negligence (that your carelessness caused the injury), assumption of risk (that you knew the job was dangerous), or the fellow servant rule (that a co-worker's negligence caused it). If the employer had any negligence at all, they are liable for 100% of your damages.
The only defenses left are that you intentionally caused your own injury or that you were intoxicated at the time.
Unlike workers' comp, which caps your benefits, a non-subscriber lawsuit can recover full lost wages, future earning capacity, medical expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and even punitive damages in cases of gross negligence. There is no preset cap. The statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of injury.
Third-Party Claims: Suing Someone Other Than Your Employer
Even if your employer carries workers' comp and you can't sue them directly, you can still file a lawsuit against any third party whose negligence contributed to your injury. Common scenarios include another driver hitting you while you're working, a defective machine or tool (product liability), a dangerous condition on a property you were sent to, or a subcontractor's negligence on a shared jobsite.
Third-party claims matter because workers' comp pays zero for pain and suffering. A third-party lawsuit can recover full wages, emotional distress, loss of consortium, and punitive damages — compensation that workers' comp simply does not provide.
Common Work Injuries in Houston
Houston is one of the most dangerous cities in the country for workplace injuries. The concentration of construction, oil and gas, petrochemical refining, and warehousing creates risks that most cities don't face.
Construction accounts for more workplace deaths in Texas than any other industry. Falls from scaffolding, roofs, and ladders are the leading killer. Struck-by incidents, electrocutions, and trench collapses round out OSHA's "Fatal Four" — responsible for the majority of construction fatalities.
Oil and gas workers face crushing injuries, explosions, burns, equipment failures, and toxic chemical exposure. Texas accounts for nearly half of all oilfield fatalities nationwide. Houston-area chemical plants average an explosion roughly every six weeks.
Warehouse and distribution workers deal with forklift accidents, falling merchandise, repetitive strain injuries, and slips and falls. Transportation and warehousing carries the highest injury rate of any Texas industry at 3.6%.
Key Deadlines You Cannot Miss
30 days — Report your injury to your employer.
1 year — File your workers' comp claim with TDI-DWC (Form-041).
2 years — File a personal injury lawsuit against a non-subscriber employer or a negligent third party.
Every one of these deadlines is a hard cutoff. Miss it, and your right to compensation may be gone permanently.
When to Talk to a Work Injury Attorney
If your employer carries workers' comp and the insurance carrier is paying your bills and wages without dispute, you may not need an attorney. But if your claim has been denied, your benefits have been cut off, your employer is a non-subscriber, a third party caused your injury, or you have a catastrophic injury — you need legal help.
Michelle Acosta is a bilingual Houston personal injury attorney who handles work injury cases for clients across the Houston metro area. The consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
Michelle survived near-fatal injuries caused by corporate negligence. She became a personal injury attorney because of it — which means she understands what her clients are going through from the inside out.