Dallas Workplace Injury Lawyer

You got hurt doing your job, and now the company is being vague about what happens next. That vagueness is not an accident.

Javier Perez Law represents workers injured on the job in Dallas and across North Texas. Injured on the job in Texas? If your employer is a workers' compensation non-subscriber, you can sue them directly for negligence, and that is a very different case than a comp claim. We tell you which one you have.

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Can I Sue My Employer for a Workplace Injury in Texas?

Sometimes yes, and Texas is the only state where that is a real question. Texas does not require private employers to carry workers' compensation. Employers that opt out are called non-subscribers, and a non-subscriber can be sued directly for negligence.

That is the whole ballgame. In most states an injured worker is locked into the comp system no matter how careless the employer was. In Texas, if your employer opted out, the courthouse door is open.

It gets better for the worker. Texas law strips a non-subscriber of the defenses employers normally rely on. In a suit against a non-subscriber, the employer cannot argue that you were partly careless, that you knew the job was dangerous and did it anyway, or that a coworker caused the injury rather than the company.

What you still have to prove is that the employer, or someone acting for the employer, was negligent. That is where the case is won or lost, and it is why documentation matters from day one.

You can read the statute at Chapter 406 of the Texas Labor Code.

How to Find Out Whether Your Employer Carries Workers' Comp

You can check, and you should not take HR's word for it. Texas employers that do not carry workers' compensation are required to report that status to the state and to notify employees in writing, and the Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) at the Texas Department of Insurance maintains coverage information.

Signs your employer may be a non-subscriber:

• The company calls its benefit an "occupational injury plan" or "employee injury benefit plan" instead of workers' compensation
• You were handed a plan document to sign after the injury, sometimes with an arbitration clause
• Benefits are administered by the company or a third-party administrator rather than a comp carrier
• There is no DWC coverage notice posted at the worksite

Read anything they put in front of you before signing, and let us look at it first if you can. Some non-subscriber plans include waivers that limit your rights, and Texas courts enforce some of them.

Not sure what your employer carries? Call +1 (214) 499-0667 and we will help you find out. The consultation is free.

Workers' Compensation or a Negligence Lawsuit: Which Is Better?

It depends entirely on whether your employer subscribes, and the two paths are not close to equivalent. Workers' comp pays faster and does not require proving anyone did anything wrong. A negligence suit is slower and harder, but the damages available are far broader.

	Workers' compensation	Non-subscriber lawsuit
Do you prove fault?	No	Yes, you must prove employer negligence
Medical bills	Covered	Recoverable
Lost wages	Partial, at a set rate	Full, including future earning ability
Pain and suffering	Not available	Available
Mental anguish	Not available	Available
Speed	Faster	Slower
Can you sue the employer?	Generally no, comp is the exclusive remedy	Yes

If your employer does subscribe, you generally cannot sue the company for the injury itself. Comp becomes the exclusive remedy, with narrow exceptions such as gross negligence in a case where a worker died.

That does not mean the case is over. It means the case points somewhere else.

Third Parties Who May Share Responsibility

Often someone other than your employer caused the injury, and that claim exists whether or not your employer carries comp. These are called third-party claims, and they are the most commonly missed money in a Texas work injury case.

Common third parties:

• A general contractor or another subcontractor on a multi-employer jobsite
• The property owner where you were sent to work
• The manufacturer of a defective machine, tool, or safety device
• A negligent driver who hit you while you were driving for work
• A maintenance company responsible for equipment that failed

A worker on comp can still bring a third-party claim, which is why "I already filed for workers' comp" is not a reason to skip a consultation.

One thing to know going in: if you took comp benefits, the insurance carrier has a legal right to be paid back out of what you recover from the third party. Negotiating that repayment down is part of the case, and it is a real reason the final number depends on who is handling it.

If the injury happened on a construction site, the analysis has extra layers, including federal safety standards from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and contractor control agreements. See our construction accident lawyers. For burn injuries at work, see workplace burn injuries.

Do You Have a Workplace Injury Case or an Employment Law Case?

They are different areas of law with different deadlines, and mixing them up costs people their claims. A workplace injury case is about physical harm: you got hurt and someone was negligent. An employment case is about how you were treated: discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or wages you were not paid.

Use this as a rough sort.

What happened	Which area
Fell, was struck, was burned, was crushed, developed an occupational illness	Workplace injury, this page
Fired, demoted, or harassed because of race, gender, age, pregnancy, religion, or disability	Employment discrimination
Punished for reporting something	Retaliation
Overtime or wages never paid	Unpaid wages and overtime

Sometimes both are true at once. If you were injured and then fired for reporting it, tell us both facts at the first call so neither deadline gets missed.

How Long Do I Have to File a Work Injury Claim in Texas?

For a negligence lawsuit against a non-subscriber, two years from the date of injury under Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Workers' compensation runs on its own, shorter clock, including a requirement to notify your employer within 30 days of the injury.

Those two clocks are the reason people lose otherwise strong cases. Someone assumes they have two years, misses the comp notice window, and finds out later that the employer subscribed after all.

Report the injury in writing as soon as you can, even a text message with a date. Then get the legal question sorted.

Occupational illnesses that develop over time, such as repetitive stress or chemical exposure, follow a different accrual rule than a single traumatic event.

How We Handle Your Dallas Work Injury Case

Here is what we do, step by step.

Stage	What happens
Free case review	We determine whether your employer subscribes and which claim you actually have
Investigation	Incident reports, safety records, training documents, equipment maintenance history, witness statements
Third-party analysis	We identify every company besides your employer that may share responsibility
Medical documentation	We work with your treating providers so the record shows the full injury
Demand and negotiation	The claim is presented with evidence and a documented damages figure
Litigation	If the offer stays unfair, we file in Dallas County or federal court

Javier Perez has litigated hundreds of cases in Texas state and federal court, including over a dozen civil jury trials, bench trials, and final arbitration hearings.

Injured on the job in Dallas or DFW? You owe no attorney's fee unless we recover for you. Call +1 (214) 499-0667.

What Does a Dallas Workplace Injury Lawyer Cost?

Nothing up front. We handle workplace injury cases on contingency, so the fee comes from the recovery at the end and you owe no attorney's fee if we do not recover for you. The consultation is free and confidential.

Case expenses such as filing fees, records, and experts are handled separately from the attorney's fee. We explain exactly how that works before you sign anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

Talk to a Dallas Workplace Injury Lawyer

In your time of need, Javier Perez is on your side.

If you were hurt on the job in Dallas, Fort Worth, or anywhere in North Texas, we can tell you whether your employer subscribes, what claim you have, and what the deadlines are. Call, chat, or request a consultation. It is free and confidential.

Call +1 (214) 499-0667 One Energy Square, 4925 Greenville Avenue, Suite 1450, Dallas, TX 75206