Non-Subscriber Work Injury.

Texas is the only state where an employer can simply choose not to carry workers' compensation. That choice comes with a price the company does not advertise.

An employer that opts out is called a non-subscriber. If you are hurt on the job because a non-subscriber was negligent, you are not limited to a workers' compensation claim. You can sue the company directly, in court, for your full damages, including the pain and the lost future the comp system caps or ignores.

The law goes further. To keep opted-out employers from having it both ways, Texas strips them of the defenses that usually blame the worker. A non-subscriber cannot argue that you were partly at fault, that you assumed the risk of the job, or that a co-worker caused it. You still have to prove the company was negligent, but you prove it without fighting through those defenses.