Most workers assume their employer carries workers’ compensation insurance. In many states, that assumption holds true—employers are required to participate in the system and provide benefits if someone gets hurt on the job. But in states like Texas, the rules are different. Employers can choose to opt out, becoming what’s known as a non-subscriber.
If your employer doesn’t carry workers’ comp coverage, your legal rights change. You may be able to file a lawsuit directly against your employer and pursue full compensation for your injuries. At Nix Patterson, we help workers take legal action when employers opt out of the system—and then fail to protect the people who work for them.
How Nix Patterson Represents Workers Injured by Non-Subscriber Employers
We represent people who have been seriously injured at work due to employer negligence. These are not minor incidents or routine claims—they are life-altering events caused by preventable failures. When your employer doesn’t carry workers’ comp insurance, we step in to hold them accountable through a civil lawsuit.
Our firm does not file or manage workers’ compensation claims. Instead, we sue employers directly when their negligence causes harm. In non-subscriber cases, that process becomes even more important. These employers gave up the liability protections of the workers’ comp system, and they can be sued for ordinary negligence—without the barriers that often prevent lawsuits in subscriber cases.
We take on complex, high-stakes litigation. Our team includes experienced workplace injury lawyers, investigators, and industry experts who work together to uncover unsafe practices, ignored hazards, and management decisions that led to serious injuries. Whether your employer failed to train you, provided defective equipment, or created a culture where safety came second to speed, we’re prepared to make the case.
We also represent workers on a contingency fee basis. That means we advance all costs of litigation—including expert witnesses, filings, and trial preparation—and you don’t pay unless we win. For injured workers facing financial pressure, this model allows us to move quickly without adding more burden to your recovery.
What It Means If Your Employer Is a “Non-Subscriber”
In most states, employers are required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance. This system limits lawsuits but guarantees access to basic benefits. But in Texas and a few other states, participation is voluntary. Employers who choose not to buy coverage are called non-subscribers—and that decision has serious legal consequences.
Workers’ Comp Is Not Mandatory in Some States (e.g., Texas)
Texas is the only state that allows private employers to opt out of the workers’ compensation system entirely. If your employer made that choice, they are not covered by the same legal protections other companies receive. That means they can be sued directly when their negligence causes harm.
Non-Subscribers Lose Liability Protections
Employers who opt out of workers’ comp give up the legal shield that usually prevents workers from filing a lawsuit. They also forfeit the ability to use certain defenses in court, such as blaming the injury on a coworker or arguing that you accepted the risks of the job. These legal shifts make non-subscriber cases more favorable for injured workers, especially when the evidence shows that the employer failed to act responsibly.
Injured Workers May Sue for Ordinary Negligence
In a typical workplace injury lawsuit, you must prove that the employer acted with gross negligence to overcome workers’ comp immunity. But in a non-subscriber case, the standard is lower. You only need to show ordinary negligence—that the employer failed to act with reasonable care and that failure caused your injury. This opens the door to more cases and makes it possible to pursue meaningful compensation in court.
When You Have the Right to File a Lawsuit
If your employer is a non-subscriber, you may have the right to sue them directly for your workplace injury. The conditions that allow for a lawsuit are broader than most workers realize and far more protective than the workers’ compensation system.
No Requirement to Prove Gross Negligence—Ordinary Negligence Is Enough
In non-subscriber cases, you do not need to prove that your employer was reckless or intentionally harmful. You only need to show that they failed to take reasonable precautions. Whether they skipped safety training, ignored known hazards, or failed to provide proper equipment, these acts, or failures to act, can meet the legal threshold for a claim.
No Immunity for Employer Fault
Unlike employers who participate in workers’ comp, non-subscribers do not enjoy legal immunity. They can be sued in civil court, just like any other defendant. That means your case can be heard by a judge or jury, and your employer can be held publicly accountable for their actions.
Lawsuits May Be Your Primary Form of Recourse
If your employer doesn’t carry workers’ comp, there’s no administrative claim process to fall back on. A civil lawsuit may be your only path to recovering medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. At Nix Patterson, we guide injured workers through that process, ensuring the lawsuit is built on evidence, expert insight, and strategic preparation from day one.
What You Can Recover Through a Lawsuit
When your employer doesn’t carry workers’ compensation insurance, filing a lawsuit may be your only legal path to recovery. Unlike the limited benefits offered through workers’ comp, a civil claim allows you to pursue the full scope of what your injury has cost—and what your future will require.
Full Medical Costs and Long-Term Care
A lawsuit enables you to recover 100% of your medical expenses related to the injury, not just a percentage or capped amount. That includes emergency care, surgeries, follow-up visits, prescription medication, rehabilitation, mobility aids, and any future treatment or in-home care required. Your recovery should not be limited by what the employer chose not to insure.
Lost Wages and Future Income
Injured workers often miss weeks or months of work or may never return to the same role again. Civil lawsuits allow you to seek compensation for immediate lost wages as well as future earning capacity. This includes loss of raises, promotions, bonuses, and retirement contributions that would have been earned if not for the injury.
Pain and Suffering
Workers’ compensation does not cover the physical pain or emotional trauma that often follow a serious injury. In a civil lawsuit, you can pursue damages for chronic pain, depression, anxiety, loss of independence, and other long-term effects that impact your quality of life. These damages reflect the true human cost of employer negligence.
Punitive Damages in Extreme Cases
When an employer’s conduct rises to the level of willful misconduct—such as knowingly violating safety regulations or disregarding repeated warnings—a court may award punitive damages. These are not just meant to compensate you but to penalize the employer and discourage similar conduct in the future. We pursue them when the facts warrant it.
Common Employer Failures in Non-Subscriber Cases
Employers who opt out of workers’ comp often have a pattern of cutting corners. Without the oversight and accountability built into the system, these companies may take greater risks with worker safety, and too often the consequences are severe. Here are some of the most common failures we see in non-subscriber injury cases.
Lack of Formal Safety Training
Training is the foundation of a safe workplace. When companies hire new employees but skip formal instruction, workers are left to guess how to perform dangerous tasks. In non-subscriber cases, this failure is one of the most common and one of the most legally significant. If no one showed you how to do the job safely, your employer may be responsible for what happened next.
Outdated or Broken Equipment
Employers that don’t maintain their equipment put everyone at risk. From unguarded machinery to malfunctioning lifts and aging tools, these hazards often go unaddressed because no system forces them to fix it. When equipment fails and causes injury, that negligence becomes a central issue in a civil lawsuit.
Missing PPE or Safety Systems
Companies are required to provide proper personal protective equipment (PPE) and enforce its use. When safety glasses, gloves, harnesses, or respirators are missing, or not replaced after damage, injuries are more likely. In non-subscriber workplaces, the absence of these systems often reflects a culture of safety as an afterthought.
Pressure to Work Through Injuries
In some workplaces, injured workers are told to “walk it off,” avoid reporting injuries, or return to work too soon. This pressure can cause minor injuries to become severe or lead to additional harm. If you were told not to seek treatment or punished for taking time off to recover, that may be a sign of negligence and a key factor in your case.
Retaliation Against Injured Employees
Retaliation is a common issue in non-subscriber workplaces. Employers may cut hours, demote workers, or threaten termination after an injury is reported. These actions are not only unethical, they may be illegal. When retaliation follows a preventable injury, we document both the harm and the employer’s efforts to silence or punish the worker for speaking up.
How We Prove Fault When There’s No Insurance Coverage
When an employer opts out of workers’ compensation, they’re taking a risk. Our job is to prove that their decisions, combined with their lack of accountability, directly led to your injury. That process starts with gathering evidence and building a case that shows how and why the incident happened.
Documenting Unsafe Conditions
We investigate the worksite conditions that led to the injury, including photographs, diagrams, or physical evidence. If the hazard is still present, we act quickly to preserve proof. If it has been removed or altered, we look for inspection reports or past complaints that confirm its prior existence.
Interviewing Coworkers and Supervisors
Your coworkers may have seen what happened or worked under the same unsafe conditions. We take their statements early and preserve their observations as evidence. Supervisors who knew about the hazard may also provide insight into what management knew and when they knew it.
Collecting OSHA Complaints or Inspection Reports
Even in non-subscriber workplaces, OSHA violations may still apply. If your employer had been cited for the same issue in the past, or if others reported the danger before your injury, that history becomes part of the case. We obtain and review all relevant documentation from OSHA or the state safety authority.
Using Expert Testimony to Connect Negligence to the Injury
We work with workplace safety experts, engineers, and medical professionals to explain what should have been done to prevent the injury. Their insight helps establish what the standard of care was, how the employer failed to meet it, and how that failure caused your harm. Their testimony often makes the difference in proving liability in court.
Contact Nix Patterson if You Were Hurt and Your Employer Opted Out
If your employer doesn’t carry workers’ compensation insurance and you were seriously injured on the job, you still have options. You may be able to file a lawsuit and recover the full compensation you need to move forward.
Nix Patterson represents workers harmed by non-subscriber employers—companies that opted out of workers’ comp and failed to keep their employees safe. Our lawyers take these cases seriously. We investigate quickly, litigate aggressively, and only get paid if we win.
Contact Nix Patterson today for a free, confidential consultation. We’ll explain your legal options, determine whether a lawsuit is possible, and fight for the recovery you need.