What about the Employers in Texas who are “Non-Subscribers”?
You may not know it, but in Texas, companies are not required to have insurance that protects their employees if they are injured at work. Some companies have insurance covering any personal injury or property damage that may occur while operating their businesses. Unfortunately, this type of insurance, known as the General Commercial Liability Policy, excludes and does not cover personal injuries (employees and equal contractors). This confuses whether the injured worker will receive benefits.
If you are injured at work, these are the possible scenarios in which you may find yourself:
Your employer does NOT have insurance: Generally, this means that, if you are injured due to your employer’s negligence, you could only sue the owner or the company directly, and depending on how the company was bodily established with the state, you can recover the profits and property of the owner or the company.
Your employer has a General Commercial Liability policy: This type of policy does not cover injuries to employees or contractors. This will be the same as not having insurance.
Your employer is a Texas Workers ‘Compensation subscriber and has insurance to cover damages to employees (TEXAS WORKERS’ COMPENSATION). This means that you will receive benefits. But the compensation rules under the state program are very specific, and you may need help to make sure you are receiving the proper treatment and benefits before you return to work.
Your employer is NOT a SUBSCRIBER of Workers Compensation of Texas (NON-SUBSCRIBER). The company has its insurance plan (not the Texas workers’ compensation program) that provides benefits and covers employees’ injuries while they work. These are employers who are not subscribed to the workers’ compensation program. Several companies have insurance plans that cover injuries to employees. Some examples are:
- Stripes
- Walmart
- Home Depot
- Target
- HEB
- The Michoacana
- Kroger
- Academy
The process of identifying if you have benefits can be difficult, and many times employers are not willing to cooperate and help discover your benefits. Therefore, if you are injured at work, you must take the appropriate steps to ensure that you have not affected your ability to claim your benefits.
Work Injuries under the Non-Subscriber Plan
Have you suffered an accident at work and do not know if you are getting the medical attention you deserve? You may think that you do not need legal representation right now, but in reality, this is the best time for you to seek legal advice about your rights as a worker before the employer and the insurance company causes you harm or fraud.
Understandably, most injured workers wait until they are at a dead end with insurance adjusters to obtain treatment or analysis and pass important exams before seeking the opinion of a lawyer. By that time, the insurance has been able to delay providing an important treatment that will alleviate your injuries and begin the recovery process sooner.
If you suffered an accident at work, you need to follow the steps below to be aware of the rights you have:
The two steps you should follow if you have suffered an injury at work
- Suppose your employer has a Plan of Occupational Injuries No Underwriter (Non-Subscriber Work Injury Plan). In that case, the first step is to hire an attorney to advise their treatment under that insurance plan, and you are sure not omitted any Injury diagnosis procedure. In general, if you are injured because your employer was negligent in training you or failed to provide you with labor or equipment to perform your job safely, you may have a potential claim that must be protected.
- Suppose your employer has a Plan of Occupational Injuries No Underwriter (Non-Subscriber Work Injury Plan). In that case, the second step is to file a lawsuit or arbitration to ensure that the time allowed for filing the claim is protected. Your lawyer will handle and make sure that all the evidence necessary to support your compensation claim is gathered.
If you have suffered an accident at work, you should contact a personal or work injury lawyer to trust and understand your needs due to the lack of worker’s compensation insurance in Texas. There is no doubt that you may eventually misunderstand your company’s insurance policy, so you will be in a better position to be well represented when that time comes.
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