Related & Derivative Claims
A work injury can create legal claims beyond the workers' comp claim, and sometimes instead of it. This page maps those related claims and links to a full guide for each.
One injury, more than one possible claim
Workers' compensation is usually the only claim an injured Texas worker has against their employer. That is a deliberate trade: the comp system pays defined benefits without your having to prove anyone was at fault, and in exchange, employers who carry comp insurance generally cannot be sued for work injuries. But that trade has boundaries, and outside them, other claims exist. Some run alongside your comp claim. Some replace it entirely. Each has its own deadlines, and none of them waits for the comp claim to finish.
Can I sue instead of getting workers' comp?
Usually this is not a choice you get to make; it is decided by the facts. If your employer carries workers' comp insurance, the comp claim is generally your only claim against the employer, and a lawsuit against it is barred. If your employer does not carry comp insurance, there is no comp claim to file against it, and a lawsuit is exactly the path. And if someone other than your employer caused your injury, you can pursue comp and a lawsuit against that other party at the same time.
The pages below sort out which of these situations is yours.
Claims against your employer
- The Exclusive Remedy Rule: Why You Usually Can't Sue Your Employer explains the trade at the center of the system: why lawsuits against a covered employer are barred, and the narrow exceptions, including intentional harm and death cases involving gross negligence.
- Non-Subscriber Work Injury Cases covers employers who opted out of workers' comp. Texas allows that choice, and an injured worker's remedy against a non-subscriber is an injury lawsuit in which the employer has lost its best defenses.
- Employer Retaliation in Texas Workers' Compensation Cases covers a different wrong: being fired or punished for filing a comp claim. That is a separate claim against the employer, allowed even when injury lawsuits are not.
Claims against someone else
- Third Party Personal Injury Claims covers injuries caused by someone other than your employer: a driver, a manufacturer of defective equipment, a contractor from another company on the same site. That lawsuit runs alongside your comp claim, and the two affect each other in ways worth understanding before either resolves.
Different systems for certain workers
- Federal Workers' Compensation Claims covers federal employees, whose claims run through a federal system, not the Texas DWC.
- Defense Base Act Claims covers civilian contractors injured while working overseas on United States military bases and government contracts.
- Offshore Injuries: The Jones Act and Maritime Claims covers seamen and offshore workers, whose injuries fall under maritime law rather than state comp.
When the injury outlasts the claim
- Moving From Workers' Comp to SSDI covers the transition many seriously injured workers eventually face: applying for Social Security disability benefits while comp benefits run out, and how the two programs interact.
The pages in this section
01 Section overview The Exclusive Remedy Rule: Why You Usually Can’t Sue Your Employer ▸
02 Section overview Non-Subscriber Work Injury Cases ▸
03 Section overview Employer Retaliation in Texas Workers’ Compensation Cases ▸
04 Section overview Federal Workers’ Compensation Claims ▸
05 Section overview Defense Base Act Claims ▸
06 Section overview Moving From Workers’ Comp to SSDI ▸
07 Section overview Third Party Personal Injury Claims ▸
08 Section overview Offshore Injuries: The Jones Act and Maritime Claims ▸
Attorney notes regarding adjacent & alternative claims
A workers’ compensation claim may not be the only claim created by a workplace injury. Depending on how you were hurt, who caused the injury, and who you were working for, you may have other legal rights that exist alongside workers’ compensation or instead of it.
Another claim may be hiding in the facts:
- Someone other than your employer caused the injury: You may have a separate claim against a third party.
- Your employer does not carry workers’ compensation insurance: Different rights and remedies may apply.
- Several companies were involved: Contractors, property owners, vendors, staffing companies, or other businesses may need to be considered.
- Your employment status is disputed: Being called an “independent contractor” does not always answer the legal question.
- Something about the workplace conduct seems wrong: Some facts may raise legal issues beyond the workers’ compensation claim itself.
At Abbott, Clay & Bedoy, we look at how the entire injury happened, not just the workers’ compensation file. When another type of claim may exist, identifying it early can be very important.
Do not assume workers’ compensation is your only option simply because you were hurt at work. We can look at the circumstances surrounding your injury and help determine what rights and claims should be investigated.
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