Texas Workplace Injury Lawyer
Texas is the only state in the country where workers' compensation is optional for private employers. That single fact reshapes every workplace injury claim. If your employer is a workers' comp subscriber, your benefits are limited but guaranteed regardless of fault. If your employer opted out — a non-subscriber — you can sue them directly in court, and they lose almost every defense they would normally have. Either way, a third party (a subcontractor, equipment manufacturer, property owner, or driver) may also be on the hook. Knowing which path applies to your case is the difference between a few thousand dollars and a full recovery.
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What to do after a workplace injury in Texas
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Report the injury, in writing, within 30 days.
Texas Labor Code § 409.001 requires that you notify your employer within <strong>30 days</strong> of the injury (or 30 days from when you knew or should have known the injury was work-related, for occupational diseases). Miss that window and your workers' comp claim can be denied outright. Put it in writing, keep a copy, and email it so the timestamp is preserved. Verbal reports to a foreman get 'forgotten' six months later.
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Get to an ER or urgent care the same day.
Same-day medical documentation is the most important evidence in your case. If your employer is a workers' comp subscriber, you may eventually need to see a designated doctor — but emergency care is always allowed, and you should never delay treatment to figure out the paperwork. Tell the provider exactly how, where, and when the injury happened. Those notes anchor the entire claim.
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Photograph the scene, the equipment, and your injuries.
The defective ladder, the missing guardrail, the unmarked spill, the broken machine — by next shift it may be repaired, replaced, or removed. Photos and video taken at the time are often the only evidence that the hazard existed. Get the make and model of any equipment, the names on any subcontractor vests, and the license plates of any vehicles involved.
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Get witness names and contact information.
Coworkers will be told not to talk to you once a claim is filed. Independent witnesses — delivery drivers, customers, workers from other crews on the same site — won't be there next week. Get their full names, phone numbers, and the company they work for before they disappear from the jobsite.
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Do not sign anything from your employer or their insurer.
Within days of a serious injury, the employer's insurance adjuster will offer a quick payment in exchange for a 'simple release.' That document often releases every claim you have — including third-party claims worth far more than the check. Don't sign. Don't give a recorded statement. Don't agree to a 'final' medical exam with their doctor before a lawyer reviews the paperwork.
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Identify everyone who might be responsible.
On a construction site or industrial job, your direct employer is rarely the only responsible party. The general contractor, other subcontractors, the equipment manufacturer, the maintenance company, the property owner, and the staffing agency may all share fault. Third-party claims operate outside the workers' comp system and have no cap on damages.
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Call Kent before any deadline runs.
Workers' comp has a one-year filing window. Third-party negligence claims have two years. Different deadlines, different forms, different forums — all triggered by the same injury. Free consultation, no pressure.
Subscribers, non-subscribers, third-party claims, and deadlines
The most important fact about your Texas workplace injury claim is whether your employer subscribes to workers' compensation. That answer dictates which court you're in, which damages you can recover, and which defenses the employer keeps. Beyond that, almost every workplace case has a third-party angle that needs to be investigated separately.
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Subscriber employers — limited benefits, no lawsuit
If your employer carries workers' comp, you receive benefits regardless of fault: medical care, plus income benefits called TIBs (Temporary Income Benefits while you can't work), IIBs (Impairment Income Benefits after maximum medical improvement), SIBs (Supplemental Income Benefits in serious cases), and LIBs (Lifetime Income Benefits for catastrophic injuries). What you do not get: pain and suffering, full lost wages (TIBs cap at 70% up to a state-set maximum), or punitive damages. In exchange for the no-fault benefits, you generally cannot sue your employer in tort — Texas Labor Code § 408.001 calls this the 'exclusive remedy' bar.
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Non-subscriber employers — full lawsuit, key defenses gone
Roughly a quarter of Texas employers opt out of workers' comp entirely. When they do, Texas Labor Code § 406.033 takes away almost every defense they would normally have in a negligence case: they cannot blame you for contributory negligence, they cannot blame a coworker's negligence, and they cannot argue you assumed the risk of the job. You only have to prove the employer was 1% negligent and that negligence caused the injury. Damages are uncapped — pain and suffering, lost earning capacity, future medical care, and in some cases punitive damages are all on the table. For serious injuries, this is often a far better path than workers' comp. See our deeper analysis of why Texas non-subscriber status removes the comparative-fault defense.
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Third-party claims — usually where the real recovery is
Whether your employer subscribes or not, you can sue any non-employer whose negligence contributed to your injury. On a construction site, that often means a general contractor who didn't enforce safety standards, a subcontractor whose crew created the hazard, an equipment manufacturer whose product was defective, a maintenance company that signed off on broken machinery, or the driver of a delivery truck that hit you on the jobsite. Third-party cases operate as ordinary personal injury claims with full damages.
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Workers' comp deadlines — one year to file DWC-41
Texas Labor Code § 409.003 requires you file the DWC-41 claim form with the Division of Workers' Compensation within one year of the date of injury (or one year from when you knew the injury was work-related). The earlier 30-day notice to your employer (§ 409.001) is a separate step. Both deadlines have narrow exceptions for good cause, but neither one is safe to test.
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Third-party deadline — two years
Negligence claims against non-employers fall under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.003: two years from the date of injury. Wrongful-death claims have their own two-year clock from the date of death. Claims against governmental units have shorter notice deadlines (often 90 days or six months) under the Texas Tort Claims Act. Don't let a comp claim eat the time you need to file the bigger case.
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Common Texas workplace injury categories
Construction falls from heights and scaffolding, struck-by-object injuries, electrocution and arc-flash burns, trench and excavation collapses, crane and rigging failures, forklift and warehouse incidents, oil-and-gas refinery explosions and well-site blowouts, pipeline and tank-battery accidents, delivery-driver and route-driver crashes, healthcare worker lifting and needlestick injuries, and toxic chemical exposure. Each category has its own evidence pattern and its own typical mix of third-party defendants.
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The Jones Act, FELA, and other federal regimes
Maritime workers (offshore rigs, vessels, dredging operations) are covered by the federal Jones Act, not Texas workers' comp. Railroad workers are covered by the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA). Longshore and harbor workers fall under the LHWCA. Federal contractors and certain energy workers have their own systems. The wrong filing in the wrong forum can blow the case. Kent has handled federal-jurisdiction injury cases throughout his career.
Why Kent for workplace injuries
Workplace cases reward lawyers who can read complex contractual relationships and figure out who's actually responsible. Indemnity agreements, additional-insured endorsements, and master service agreements between operators and subcontractors often decide which insurance policy ends up paying. Kent's contracts background combined with three decades of trial work in industrial cases gives him an edge in the kind of multi-defendant matters that arise on Texas construction sites, oil-field operations, refineries, and warehouses.
Multi-defendant case experience
Construction and industrial cases routinely involve 3–5 named defendants and overlapping insurance towers. Kent has tried them. The early decisions about who to name, when, and in what order materially affect what the case is worth.
Non-subscriber tort experience
Non-subscriber cases are won by proving the employer failed a known safety standard — OSHA, ANSI, or industry custom. Kent knows how to build that record with the right experts and depositions.
Federal court when needed
Cases involving railroad, maritime, or federal contractors often land in federal court. Kent's argued in the Fifth Circuit and has tried cases in federal forums when state court wasn't an option.
Spanish-speaking staff
A large share of Texas workplace injury clients work in industries where Spanish is the primary language on the job. We can take your call, hold the consultation, and run your case in Spanish from start to finish.
Talk to Kent about your workplace injuries case.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Same-day response.
Workplace Injuries — frequently asked questions
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Can I sue my employer in Texas if I'm hurt at work?
It depends on whether your employer subscribes to workers' compensation. If they're a non-subscriber, you can sue them directly for negligence under Texas Labor Code § 406.033 — and they lose contributory negligence, assumption of risk, and coworker negligence as defenses. If they're a subscriber, you generally cannot sue them (the 'exclusive remedy' rule), but you can sue any third party whose negligence contributed to your injury. We'll figure out which category your employer is in within the first call.
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What's the difference between a subscriber and a non-subscriber employer?
A subscriber carries Texas workers' compensation insurance. Their injured workers get no-fault medical care and income benefits, but cannot sue the employer for pain and suffering. A non-subscriber has opted out of the workers' comp system. Their injured workers have no automatic benefits, but they can sue the employer in court with most of the employer's normal defenses stripped away under § 406.033. Roughly a quarter of Texas employers are non-subscribers — common in retail, restaurants, staffing, and some construction outfits.
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Can I get workers' comp AND sue a third party at the same time?
Yes — and you often should. If you were hurt by defective equipment, a negligent subcontractor, a delivery driver, or a property owner who wasn't your employer, you can collect workers' comp benefits AND pursue a third-party negligence claim. The workers' comp carrier typically has a subrogation lien on the third-party recovery (they get paid back from your settlement), but the net recovery for you is usually much greater than comp alone. For realistic timelines on both tracks, see our breakdown of workers' comp vs. third-party claim timelines.
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How long do I have to report a workplace injury in Texas?
30 days to notify your employer under Texas Labor Code § 409.001, in writing. One year to file the DWC-41 claim form with the Division of Workers' Compensation under § 409.003. Two years to file a negligence lawsuit against your employer (if non-subscriber) or any third party under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.003. Government defendants often require notice in 90 days to six months. Different clocks, same injury — don't miss any of them.
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What does workers' comp actually pay — and what doesn't it pay?
Comp pays: reasonable and necessary medical care, plus weekly income benefits (TIBs at roughly 70% of your average weekly wage up to a state maximum, then IIBs based on your impairment rating, plus SIBs or LIBs in serious cases). Comp does not pay: pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, full lost wages, or punitive damages. That gap is why third-party claims matter so much — they recover the damages workers' comp leaves on the table.
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What if my workers' comp claim was denied or my impairment rating is too low?
Denied claims and disputed impairment ratings are appealable through the Division of Workers' Compensation administrative process — benefit review conferences, contested case hearings, and appeals to the Appeals Panel and ultimately state district court. Insurance carriers routinely lowball impairment ratings; a fight over a few percentage points can be worth tens of thousands of dollars in IIBs. We handle the appeal and the dispute.
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What if I'm undocumented?
You still have the right to recover for workplace injuries in Texas. Texas courts have generally held that immigration status is not admissible in your injury claim and is not a basis for the employer to escape liability. We handle these cases regularly. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, but undocumented status alone is not a reason to walk away from a real claim.