You may have two claims. If your employer carries workers’ compensation, you can receive benefits regardless of fault and still sue the at-fault driver who hit you. If your employer is a nonsubscriber, you may sue the employer for negligence, and it loses key defenses. Notify your employer within 30 days.
Texas is the only state where most private employers can choose not to carry workers’ compensation. Labor Code section 406.002 makes coverage elective for private employers, and section 406.005 requires employers to tell employees whether they have it. Which kind of employer you have decides how a work-related crash is handled.
If your employer has workers’ compensation, benefits for medical care and part of your lost income are paid regardless of who caused the crash. Under section 408.001, those benefits are your exclusive remedy against the employer itself. They are not your only remedy against the other driver. Section 417.001 allows an injured employee to seek damages from a third party who is liable for the injury, such as the driver who ran the light. The comp carrier is reimbursed from that recovery under section 417.002, so the two claims have to be coordinated.
If your employer is a nonsubscriber, you can sue the employer for negligence that contributed to the injury, such as an unsafe vehicle, unrealistic delivery schedules, or inadequate training. Section 406.033 takes away the employer’s defenses that the employee was contributorily negligent, assumed the risk, or was hurt by a co-worker’s negligence, though the employee must still prove the employer was negligent. You can also pursue the at-fault driver.
Deadlines run on both tracks. Section 409.001 requires notice of the injury to the employer within 30 days, and section 409.003 requires a claim for compensation to be filed with the Division of Workers’ Compensation within one year. The two-year limitations period applies to the injury suit against the other driver.
Driving is part of many Texas jobs: delivery, sales, home health, construction, and field service among them. A crash while driving for work is one of the most common ways employees are hurt on the job, and it is one of the few situations in which a worker can receive comp benefits and also pursue full damages, including pain and mental anguish, from the driver who caused it.
Owsley Law Firm handles the injury claim against the at-fault driver and coordinates it with workers’ compensation or a nonsubscriber claim. The consultation is free.
What to do, step by step
- Report the injury to your employer in writing within 30 days.
- Find out whether the employer carries workers’ compensation.
- File a claim with the Division of Workers’ Compensation within one year if covered.
- Get the at-fault driver’s insurance information.
- Talk to a lawyer about the third-party claim.
Many people hurt in a work crash do not know whether their employer has workers’ compensation. Employers are required to notify employees, and the Division of Workers’ Compensation can confirm coverage. The answer changes the strategy, so find out early.
If you drive for a rideshare or delivery platform as an independent contractor, workers’ compensation usually does not apply, and the claim runs through the at-fault driver, your own policy, and any platform coverage.
The at-fault driver’s insurer may argue that workers’ compensation already paid your bills. Texas law lets the carrier recover those benefits from a third-party recovery, so the third-party claim must account for the comp lien, and a lawyer can often reduce what is owed back.
Mistakes that cost people money
- Not reporting the injury to your employer within 30 days.
- Assuming workers’ compensation is your only remedy.
- Ignoring the comp carrier’s reimbursement right when settling.
- Missing the one-year deadline to file the comp claim.
Related questions
Can I get workers’ comp and sue the other driver?
Yes. Labor Code section 417.001 allows a claim against a liable third party, and the carrier is reimbursed from that recovery.
What is a nonsubscriber?
A Texas employer that does not carry workers’ compensation. Injured employees can sue it for negligence, and it cannot use defenses like contributory negligence.
Does it matter if the crash was my fault?
For workers’ compensation, fault generally does not matter. For a third-party claim, Texas proportionate responsibility rules apply.
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