On-the-Job Injuries: Workers Compensation Insurance and Employer Liability

Interviewer: In Texas, are companies required to carry Workers Compensation Insurance?

Stephen Boutros: Companies are not required to carry Workers Compensation Insurance. If companies do carry Workers Compensation Insurance, then they’re immune from on-the-job injury lawsuits from their employees.

Interviewer: What happens if I work for a grocery store and they ask me to put up a display that collapses on me and hurts me? Could I sue the company or I would have to file a Workers Comp claim?

Stephen Boutros: If the employer carries Workers Comp, then your benefits are limited to Workers Comp benefits. Those benefits are administered through an insurance company. In Texas, this is done through an agency called the Texas Workers Comp Commission. If your employer does not carry Workers Comp Insurance, then they can be sued for your damages for failing to provide you a safe workplace.

By Texas Statute and Common Law, all employers in Texas have a duty to provide a safe workplace for their employees. That includes providing the proper equipment, properly training the employee and coworkers, properly supervising employees and coworkers. That’s the statutory and common law duty that Texas employers have.