Texas law allows an employer not to carry workers’ compensation insurance for their workers. The employers who choose not to carry workers compensation insurance are called “non-subscribers,”.

The traditional workers’ compensation system essentially works as a trade-off. In return for carrying workers’ comp insurance for all employees, companies are protected from personal injury lawsuits when workers are hurt on the job. Injured workers make claims against the workers’ comp insurance instead of suing their own employers.

The non-subscribers waive valuable rights when they elect not to carry workers compensation insurance. The employers are not immune from a lawsuit and cannot assert some affirmative defenses in defending their claim such as that the plaintiff was partially at fault.

Rick understands that if an employer who is a non-subscriber is found 1% negligent then the employer is responsible for the total judgement and cannot assert partial negligence by the plaintiff. Many lawyers simply do not understand this difference!