Carrollton Workplace Injury Lawyer

Get a Free Case Review

SERIOUS ATTORNEYS FOR SERIOUS INJURIES

Practice Areas

FREE CONSULTATION
five-stars-BBGgold

Chandler Ross is the best hands down! You can not go wrong with these attorneys!

— Tracy P.

Getting hurt at work in Carrollton can turn your life upside down in an instant. Medical bills pile up, paychecks stop coming, and you’re left wondering what your rights actually are under Texas law. Whether you slipped on a wet warehouse floor near Interstate 35E, got hurt at a construction site off Josey Lane, or suffered an injury at one of Carrollton’s many manufacturing facilities, you deserve to know your legal options. At Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys, we represent injured workers in Carrollton and across Denton County, helping them pursue the full compensation they’re owed.

Table of Contents

Texas Is the Only State That Lets Employers Skip Workers’ Compensation Coverage

Most people assume their employer automatically carries workers’ compensation insurance. In Texas, that assumption can cost you. In 2026, Texas remains the only state where private employers are not legally required to provide workers’ compensation insurance. That means the rules for your claim depend entirely on what your employer chose to do, and you may not even know the answer until after you’re already hurt.

Under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act, employers who carry coverage are called “subscribers.” Those who opt out are called “non-subscribers.” If your employer is a subscriber, your claim will proceed through the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC), which provides medical and income benefits but generally limits your ability to sue your employer directly for negligence. That’s a significant restriction on what you can recover.

Under Texas Labor Code Section 406.031, an insurance carrier is liable for compensation when an injury arises out of and in the course and scope of employment, without regard to fault or negligence. That sounds helpful, but the trade-off is real: subscriber employees give up the right to sue their employer directly in most cases. The system was designed to provide fast benefits, not full compensation.

Carrollton sits in both Denton and Dallas Counties, so knowing which courthouse handles your case and which rules apply to your employer matters from day one. If you’re not sure whether your employer carries coverage, you can search the Texas Department of Insurance’s Division of Workers’ Compensation employer database. The attorneys at Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys can help you find that answer quickly and tell you exactly what it means for your claim.

What Happens When Your Carrollton Employer Is a Non-Subscriber

When your employer skips workers’ compensation coverage, your legal path changes completely. If your employer is a non-subscriber, you typically retain the right to file a personal injury lawsuit against them, alleging negligence. That opens the door to a much wider range of compensation than the workers’ comp system allows.

Under Texas Labor Code Section 406.033, non-subscriber employers lose several key legal defenses. Non-subscribing employers forfeit several common-law defenses, including contributory negligence, assumption of the risk, and the negligence of fellow employees. In plain terms, the employer cannot point the finger at you to reduce what they owe.

The damages available in a non-subscriber lawsuit go far beyond what workers’ comp pays. Damages in such a lawsuit can include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and sometimes punitive damages. Workers’ compensation, by contrast, covers only a portion of lost wages and medical costs, with no payment for pain and suffering at all.

To win a non-subscriber case, you still have to prove negligence. To succeed in a non-subscriber lawsuit, you must prove that your employer’s negligence caused your injury, which could involve demonstrating unsafe working conditions, inadequate training, defective equipment, or a failure to implement proper safety protocols. That’s where having experienced personal injury lawyers in your corner makes a real difference. Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys knows how to build these cases and what evidence matters most.

Common Workplace Injuries That Lead to Claims in Carrollton

Carrollton has a large and active economy, with warehouses, distribution centers, and commercial corridors running along major roads like Belt Line Road, Old Denton Road, and the President George Bush Turnpike. That industrial activity means workplace injuries happen regularly, and they range from minor to catastrophic.

Falls, slips, and trips account for 16% of all fatal workplace injuries in Texas. Slip and fall accidents on job sites are among the most common claims we see, and they often result from wet floors, uneven surfaces, or poor lighting that an employer failed to fix. These injuries can cause broken bones, spinal damage, and traumatic brain injuries that keep workers out of the job for months.

Exposure to harmful substances or environments accounted for 10% of all fatal workplace injury cases in Texas, while contact incidents, including being struck by propelled, falling, or suspended objects, accounted for 15%. Workers in Carrollton’s warehousing and manufacturing sectors face these risks every day, from falling inventory to chemical exposure on production floors.

Other common workplace injuries include forklift accidents, machinery malfunctions, electrical hazards, overexertion injuries from heavy lifting, and vehicle accidents during work hours. Some of these injuries are severe enough to qualify as catastrophic, permanently changing a worker’s ability to earn a living. If a workplace accident also involves a commercial vehicle or a third-party contractor, additional claims may be available beyond the employer relationship. The attorneys at Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys evaluate every angle of a workplace injury case to make sure no compensation is left on the table.

Third-Party Claims Give Injured Workers More Options

Even when your employer carries workers’ compensation coverage and limits your right to sue them directly, a third-party claim may still be available. A third party is any person or company, other than your employer, whose negligence contributed to your injury.

Think about a Carrollton warehouse worker who gets hurt when a delivery truck driver, employed by a separate company, backs into the loading dock without warning. The worker’s employer might be a workers’ comp subscriber, but the delivery company is a completely separate defendant. That injured worker could file a workers’ comp claim with their own employer and a negligence lawsuit against the delivery company at the same time.

Third-party defendants in workplace injury cases often include equipment manufacturers, property owners, subcontractors, and other businesses sharing the work site. Under Texas Labor Code Section 406.032, coverage does not apply when an injury arises from an act of a third person intended to injure the employee for personal reasons unrelated to employment. That provision matters in cases involving intentional misconduct or negligent security on a job site.

Third-party claims allow injured workers to pursue full compensation, including pain and suffering, that workers’ comp does not cover. If your injury involved a piece of defective equipment, a negligent contractor, or a property hazard on someone else’s land near a Carrollton job site, a separate civil claim may run alongside your workers’ comp benefits. Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys analyzes every workplace injury case for third-party liability so our clients recover every dollar available under Texas law.

Steps to Take After a Workplace Injury in Carrollton

What you do in the hours and days after a workplace injury directly affects your ability to recover compensation. The steps below apply whether your employer is a subscriber or a non-subscriber, and skipping any of them can seriously hurt your case.

Report the injury to your employer immediately. Texas law requires employers with workers’ compensation coverage to report injuries resulting in more than one day of lost time to their insurance carrier. Non-subscriber employers must report those same injuries to the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation. If you delay your report, the employer may argue the injury did not happen at work or was not as serious as you claim.

Seek medical attention right away, even if the injury feels minor. Gaps in medical treatment give insurance companies room to argue that your injuries were not caused by the workplace accident. Keep records of every doctor visit, prescription, and treatment recommendation.

Gather evidence at the scene if you can. Photos of the hazard that caused your injury, the names of any witnesses, and any incident reports filed by your employer are all valuable. Private industry employers reported 2.6 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses nationally in 2023, down 8.4 percent from 2022, which means insurers have refined systems for disputing claims. Strong evidence from the start is your best defense against those disputes.

Contact Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys as soon as possible. Texas law sets strict deadlines for filing workplace injury claims and personal injury lawsuits, and missing those deadlines can permanently bar your right to compensation. Our team serves injured workers throughout Carrollton, Denton, and the surrounding communities. Call us today at (940) 800-2500 for a free consultation.

FAQs About Carrollton Workplace Injury Claims

Does my Carrollton employer have to carry workers’ compensation insurance?

No. Texas is the only state that does not require most private employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Your employer may be a subscriber, a non-subscriber, or self-insured. Each status affects your legal rights differently. You can check your employer’s coverage status through the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation database, or call Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys at (940) 800-2500 and we can help you find out.

What can I recover if my employer is a non-subscriber and I was hurt on the job?

If your employer does not carry workers’ compensation coverage, you can file a personal injury lawsuit and pursue a full range of damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, future lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and potentially punitive damages if the employer’s conduct was especially reckless. These are damages that the workers’ compensation system does not provide, which is why non-subscriber claims are often worth significantly more.

Can I still file a lawsuit if my employer carries workers’ compensation insurance?

In most cases, workers’ comp is the exclusive remedy against a subscribing employer, meaning you cannot sue your employer directly for negligence. However, you may still have a valid third-party claim against another company, contractor, equipment manufacturer, or property owner whose negligence contributed to your injury. Those third-party claims are separate from your workers’ comp benefits and can be pursued at the same time.

How long do I have to file a workplace injury claim in Texas?

For workers’ compensation claims, you generally must report your injury to your employer within 30 days and file a claim with the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation within one year of the injury. For personal injury lawsuits against non-subscriber employers or third parties, Texas law generally allows two years from the date of the injury to file suit. Missing these deadlines can eliminate your right to any compensation, so contacting an attorney promptly is critical.

Why should I hire Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys for my Carrollton workplace injury case?

Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys is a Denton-based personal injury law firm that represents injured workers in Carrollton and throughout North Texas. Our attorneys understand the specific rules that apply to Texas workplace injury claims, including the subscriber and non-subscriber framework under the Texas Labor Code. We handle cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. Call us at (940) 800-2500 to schedule your free consultation. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in your case, as every claim depends on its own facts and applicable law.

More Resources for Carrollton, TX