The "One Percent" Rule: Proving Employer Negligence in West Texas Non-Subscriber Cases 

In West Texas, which is home to many large oil and gas companies, including the Permian Basin oil fields and distribution centers in Lubbock and El Paso, companies tend to put employee safety behind profit. When an employee is seriously injured on the job, a company's first step is often to check whether it has Workers' Compensation insurance.  

In Texas, the answer to that question is unique. Texas is the only state in the nation that allows private employers to "opt out" of the state-regulated workers' compensation system. These companies are legally referred to as "Non-Subscribers." While employers choose this path to save on expensive insurance premiums and gain more control over medical claims, they unknowingly hand their employees a formidable legal weapon: The "One Percent" Rule. 

At A2X, we specialize in weaponizing this rule against negligent corporations. If your employer chose to "go bare" without state-regulated insurance, they stripped themselves of their most powerful legal protections. Under Texas law, if our investigation can prove the company was even 1% at fault for your accident, they are legally responsible for 100% of your damages. 

Understanding the "One Percent" Rule 

If one were to see how typical personal injury cases are set up in Texas and understand the underlying power of this rule, they would have to be familiar with how car accident and premises liability cases in Texas are determined under the State's Modified Comparative Fault system. This is the process by which a jury will determine whether a person was at least 51% responsible for his/her own injury, in which case that person would not be able to receive any monetary compensation. However, even in situations where someone may only be considered to be 20% at fault, the value of the claim would decrease by that same 20%.  

Non-Subscriber work injury cases are different. Under Texas Labor Code § 406.033, an employer who opts out of the workers' comp system is strictly prohibited by statute from arguing that the employee’s own negligence caused the injury. This is a deliberate "penalty" imposed by the Texas Legislature to discourage companies from leaving the state system. 

In a Non-Subscriber courtroom, the legal focus shifts entirely. The jury is not asked to weigh your mistakes against the company’s. Instead, they are asked a simple, binary question: Was the employer’s negligence a proximate cause of the injury? If the answer is "Yes", even if the employer’s contribution was a mere fraction of the cause, the employer is held liable for the entire scope of the victim's losses. 

How A2X Proves the "One Percent" of Negligence 

To win a non-subscriber case against an employer, a plaintiff must establish that their employer acted with negligence. In an industrial workplace in West Texas, negligence typically does not involve an explosive incident; rather, it most often involves the absence of reasonable care or the employer's inability to act in a manner consistent with that of a reasonable and prudent employer. A2X's investigations into this type of case typically examine four different areas of failure that many employers in the Permian Basin and Panhandle of Texas exhibit toward their employees. 

1. Fatigue, Negligence, and the "Company Person" Pressure 

The oilfield schedule is a major cause of accidents that occur in Midland and Odessa. When supervisors and Company People force a crew to complete 14 consecutive 16-hour shifts, it depletes workers' cognitive function. Since workers were fatigued, the battery connected to all the lights would have been on during an incomplete safety check; equipment would have been incorrectly placed; and there would have been poor communication.  

Using a combination of electronic logbooks, cell phone records, and an employer's internal time-tracking software, we can establish that a supervisor may have issued a hazardous directive under a high workload and/or compelled an exhausted operator to perform subsequent lifts in gusty winds. This is the amount of evidence necessary (1%) in order to impose total liability.  

2. The "Green Hand" Trap: Inadequate Training 

The rapid turnover in West Texas industrial sectors often leads companies to put "Green Hands" (inexperienced workers) into high-risk environments with nothing more than a cursory safety video. 

A2X demands comprehensive training manuals and personnel files. If the company cannot produce a verified, signed record proving you were specifically trained on the nuances of the machinery or the hazardous material that injured you, they have breached their non-delegable duty to provide a safe workplace. A failure to train is a direct line to a 100% liability verdict. 

3. Equipment Failure and Deferred Maintenance 

To keep the oil flowing or the freight moving, companies often engage in "field repairs" with improper parts or intentionally bypass safety sensors to avoid downtime. 



Our firm works with forensic mechanical engineers to inspect the specific equipment involved in your accident. We look for "red-line" logs and evidence of deferred maintenance. If a company knew a hydraulic line was fraying or a safety guard was loose and did nothing, their 1% of negligence is established. 

4. Insufficient Manpower (Short-Handed Negligence) 

One of the leading causes of debilitating back injuries and crushing accidents in Lubbock or Amarillo is an employer requiring one person to perform a task that industry standards dictate requires two or more people. 

We utilize OSHA and ANSI standards to demonstrate that the task you were performing required a team or specialized mechanical assistance. If the company "ran lean" to maximize profit and you were injured because you were forced to work alone, the company is liable for the results of that decision. 

The Employer's "Lost Shields": Defenses They Can No Longer Use 

When a company in West Texas chooses to be a Non-Subscriber, it effectively loses the traditional legal defenses that usually protect a defendant in court. Under Section 406.033, they are legally barred from using the following three defenses: 

• Contributory Negligence: They cannot point the finger at you. Even if you were 99% careless, their 1% contribution makes them pay the full 100%. 
• Assumption of Risk: They cannot argue that "you knew the job was dangerous when you signed up." The law does not allow an employer to use the inherent danger of the oilfield as an excuse for their own negligence. 
• The Fellow Servant Rule: They cannot blame your injury on a co-worker’s mistake. In a non-subscriber case, the employer is legally responsible for the negligence of every employee on the site. 

This creates a massive strategic advantage for A2X. While the company's insurance adjusters may try to convince you that you have no case because "you made a mistake," the law says the opposite. 

The "Voluntary" Benefit Plan: A Corporate Trap 

If you work for a major Non-Subscriber, such as Walmart, Amazon, or a large-scale oilfield service provider, they likely have a private "Occupational Injury Benefit Plan." Shortly after your injury, a supervisor or a "case manager" may visit you with a stack of paperwork, offering to pay for your initial medical visits and a portion of your lost wages. 

You must be extremely cautious. These private plans are often designed to look like workers' comp, but they frequently contain a Waiver of Liability. By signing these documents, you may be unwittingly trading your right to a multi-million dollar "One Percent" lawsuit for a few thousand dollars in temporary, capped benefits. 

At A2X, we have a history of successfully challenging these waivers and private plans. We believe that a "benefit plan" created by the company’s lawyers should never supersede your right to justice under Texas law. 

Recovering Full Damages: Going Beyond the "Company Check" 

The most significant advantage of a Non-Subscriber claim over a standard workers' comp claim is the scope of damages. Workers' comp is a "limited" system; it pays for some medical care and roughly 70% of your wages, up to a cap. It pays nothing for your pain, your suffering, or your family's emotional distress. 

By filing a "One Percent" lawsuit, A2X can pursue: 

• 100% of Past and Future Lost Wages: We calculate your lifetime earning potential, especially the high-wage trajectory common in the West Texas energy sector. 
• Uncapped Medical Expenses: You are not forced to see a "company doctor." We fight to get you to see the best specialists in the world so you can achieve maximum recovery. 
• Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical agony of the injury and the long-term impact on your quality of life. 
• Mental Anguish: Recognition of the psychological trauma, anxiety, and depression that often follow a catastrophic work accident. 
• Physical Disfigurement and Impairment: Damages for permanent scarring or the loss of use of a limb. 
• Punitive Damages: If we can prove "gross negligence," that the company knew of an extreme risk and ignored it, we can seek damages meant to punish the company and deter future misconduct. 

Why A2X is the Right Choice for West Texas Non-Subscriber Claims 

West Texas juries understand the value of hard work, but they also have a low tolerance for corporations that gamble with the lives of their employees to save on insurance premiums. 

At A2X, we treat "Non-Subscriber" cases as the high-stakes litigation they are. We don't wait for an insurance company to make a "fair offer." We build the case for a total recovery by: 

• Rapid Evidence Preservation: We deploy investigators to the site in Midland or Pecos immediately to secure "Black Box" data from machinery and take high-resolution photos before the company can "re-set" the scene. 
• Vocational and Economic Experts: We don't just guess at your losses. We hire experts to testify about the cost of your future medical care and the millions in wages you will lose over a 30-year career. 
• Discovery Mastery: We dig into the company’s "near-miss" logs and internal emails to find the evidence that proves they knew the work environment was dangerous before you were hurt. 

Protecting the Backbone of West Texas 

Your employer opted out of the State of Texas's provision of a safety net for their employees in an effort to save money. As a result of that decision, they are responsible for compensating you. We do not see you as just a "claim number," but rather as an employee who has helped develop this region and deserves a representative who is willing to fight as hard for you as you do at your job every day!