Our Austin Injury Attorneys Assist with Workers Compensation Claims
Texas law permits employers to opt out of workers compensation, often in favor of alternative policies. These companies, known as nonsubscribers, often provide limited or no benefits to their injured and disabled employees, but injured employees may sue these nonsubscribing employers to receive compensation. Employees of companies that have workers compensation can receive automatic benefits, but they cannot sue their employers. This does not affect an employee’s ability to sue a third party, such as a defective product manufacturer or nonemployee that caused an injury on the job.
Employees should understand their rights in case of catastrophic injury, which means they should first know whether workers compensation can cover them. The process of receiving benefits changes greatly depending on whether a worker’s employer is a subscriber or not.
Is Your Employer a Nonsubscriber?
The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) maintains a list of nonsubscriber businesses on its website. The list is extensive, and the following are some of the major companies that are nonsubscribers:
- Harden Healthcare
- HEB Grocery Company
- Hobby Lobby
- Home Depot
- JC Penney
- Girling Healthcare
- Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
- Macy’s
- McDonald’s
- Neiman Marcus
- Pizza Hut
- Sysco Corporation
- Target
- Wal-Mart
- Wells Fargo
- Whataburger
- Whole Foods
This list contains only a few nonsubscriber employers in Texas. If your employer is not on this list and you want to know whether your company grants workers compensation to its employees, visit the TDI website.
How Nonsubscriber Employers Affect their Workers
Employees of nonsubscribers may not receive workers compensation if they suffer injuries while at work. The employer may provide an alternative or unauthorized policy, but these policies often do not provide as much coverage as a workers compensation policy. Additionally, Texas law does not recognize these policies as alternatives to workers compensation, and injured workers can still sue their employers for benefits. An employee may still file third party claims, as well, if a negligent third party caused the injury.
We Assist Injured Employees
If your company does not grant its employees workers compensation and you suffer an injury on the job, you may need to pursue legal action to receive enough benefits. At The Law Offices of Aaron Allison, our Austin injury lawyer can find out if your employer has workers compensation and ensure you receive necessary benefits following an injury at work. For more than 30 years, we have helped employees in all industries seek compensation through workers comp, personal injury and third party claims. Contact our office for assistance filing legal claims or workers compensation appeals.
