Texas Construction Accident Lawyer: Non-Subscriber Employers, Third-Party Claims and Chapter 95 (Updated November 2026)

By the Beverly Law legal team. Updated November 2026.

What to do after a construction injury in Texas

1. Tell your employer about the injury within 30 days (Labor Code § 409.001). Do it in writing if you can.
2. Find out whether your employer has workers’ comp. Employers must tell new employees whether they have coverage and post a notice at the workplace (§ 406.005).
3. Write down every company on the site, take photos of the equipment and the area, and get names and numbers of co-workers who saw what happened.
4. Be careful with any waiver. A waiver of your right to sue a non-subscriber signed before the injury is void. One signed after the injury is valid only if, among other things, it is signed at least 10 business days after the first report of injury and after a medical evaluation by a non-emergency doctor (§ 406.033(e)-(f)).
5. Get medical care and keep every bill and record.

Does your employer carry workers’ comp?

Except for public employers, a Texas employer may choose whether to obtain workers’ compensation coverage (Labor Code § 406.002). In 2024, 24% of Texas employers were non-subscribers, the lowest share since 2016, and 13% of Texas employees worked for one (TDI, 2024 biennial report).

If your employer has comp, benefits are your exclusive remedy against the employer and its agents and employees (§ 408.001(a)). One exception: the surviving spouse or heirs of the body of a worker killed by the employer’s intentional act or gross negligence can seek exemplary damages (§ 408.001(b)). An employee who wants to keep common-law rights against a covered employer must notify the employer in writing within five days of starting work, and that claim remains subject to all common-law defenses (§ 406.034).

If your employer is a non-subscriber, you can sue it for negligence, and it cannot defend by arguing that you were negligent, that you assumed the risk, or that a co-worker caused the injury (§ 406.033(a)). You still must prove the employer or its agent was negligent. The employer can defend only by showing you intended the injury or were intoxicated (§ 406.033(c)-(d)). The Texas Supreme Court held that a non-subscribing employer is not entitled to a jury question on its employee’s comparative responsibility (Kroger Co. v. Keng, 23 S.W.3d 347 (Tex. 2000)). See our guide to work injuries with a non-subscriber employer and the FAQ can you sue your employer for a work injury?

Claims against contractors, equipment makers and drivers

A covered worker can collect comp and also seek damages from a third party who is liable for the injury (§ 417.001(a)). The comp carrier is subrogated to the worker’s rights. Its interest is limited to the benefits paid, less any reduction for the employer’s share of responsibility found by the jury (§ 417.001(b)). The net recovery first repays the carrier, and anything above that counts as an advance against future benefits (§ 417.002).

General contractors. In Lee Lewis Construction, Inc. v. Harrison, 70 S.W.3d 778 (Tex. 2001), the Texas Supreme Court held that a general contractor that retained the right to control its subcontractor’s fall-protection measures owed a duty to the subcontractor’s employee, and that its failure to ensure adequate fall protection proximately caused the worker’s fall. The court also said a general contractor is not an ensurer of safety on the jobsite.

Other common defendants include the maker or rental company of defective equipment and the driver of a vehicle that enters the work area. On September 30, 2026, a crash on U.S. 290 in Waller involving two construction vehicles and a passenger vehicle injured a construction worker, who was flown to a hospital; the cause had not been released. See third-party claims after a construction accident.

Property owners and Chapter 95

Chapter 95 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code limits claims by contractors, subcontractors and their employees against owners of real property used primarily for commercial or business purposes (CPRC § 95.001). It applies to injuries arising from the condition or use of an improvement to real property that the contractor or subcontractor is building, repairing, renovating or modifying (§ 95.002).

Under § 95.003, the owner is not liable, including for failing to provide a safe workplace, unless both of these are true (CPRC § 95.003):

1. the owner exercised or retained some control over the manner in which the work was performed, beyond the right to order the work to start or stop, inspect progress or receive reports; and
2. the owner had actual knowledge of the danger or condition and failed to adequately warn.

By its terms, Chapter 95 does not reach a claim by a passerby or other member of the public, and it does not protect an owner whose property is not used primarily for commercial or business purposes.

Hurt near a construction site, and claims against the government

Drivers and pedestrians can be hurt by construction traffic too. On September 9, 2026, a pickup driver was seriously injured in a collision with a dump truck on FM 973 near Tesla Road in southeast Travis County, an area busy with construction and industrial vehicles; DPS was investigating. A driver or pedestrian in that position has an ordinary negligence claim, without any workers’ comp rules. See Austin truck accidents and our FAQ on a truck crash in a construction zone.

Fault. In a negligence case against a third party, you recover nothing if your share of responsibility is greater than 50% (CPRC § 33.001). See comparative fault in California, Texas and Washington.

Deadlines. A personal injury suit must be filed within two years after the claim accrues; for a death, two years from the death (CPRC § 16.003). If a TxDOT project, city or county is involved, the government is entitled to notice within six months, and a city charter can require it sooner (CPRC § 101.101).

Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou.

Texas construction deaths

The Texas Department of Insurance reported 557 fatal occupational injuries in Texas in 2024. The construction industry had 128, or 23% of all deaths. Construction laborers had 46, and construction or maintenance sites were the location of 15% of fatal injuries (TDI, 2024 Texas fatal occupational injuries report).

Texas does not have an OSHA-approved State Plan, so federal OSHA covers most private-sector workers in the state (OSHA, State Plans).

When a construction accident causes a head injury or a death, see our Texas brain injury lawyer and Texas wrongful death lawyer pages. Burns at plants and refineries are covered on workplace and refinery burns.

Texas, California and Washington compared

Texas is the only one of the three that lets private employers opt out of workers’ comp, and the only one where your own fault above 50% can bar a claim against a third party.

Related pages

• California construction accident lawyer
• Washington construction accident lawyer
• Texas non-subscriber work injuries
• Workers’ comp vs. a personal injury claim
• Texas wrongful death lawyer
• Areas we serve in Texas

Common questions

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.