What Are My Options If I Am Injured On The Job?

Workplace injuries are common.  What are your options if you are injured while on the job?

 

As a general rule, you cannot sue your employer. There are very few exceptions to this, the primary being if your employer did not have worker's compensation insurance.  

 

But what if you are driving as part of your job and another person causes or crash? Or you are making a sales call and the office you are calling upon has an unsafe condition. In instances where a third party (not your employer) causes the injury you can file both a worker's compensation claim and a personal injury claim against the at fault party.  The rules for worker's compensation claims and personal injury claims are different so you will want to make sure your lawyer handles both claims regularly. If they don't, you may need two seperate attorneys- one to handle the worker's compensation and the other the personal injury.

 

If you do recieve worker's compensation benefits, and then later recieve money from your pesonal injury claim, you may have to pay the worker's compensation back.  

 

Worker's compensation generally is meant to provide swift and certain relief in return for the employee losing the right to sue his or her employer.  However, traditionally worker's compensation pays less than personal injury claims. However, personal injury claims may take longer and there is no guarantee of recovery.

 

If you have been hurt on the job by a third party, give us a call and we are happy to discuss you rights against the third party. We do not handle worker's compensation claims so you will also want to speak to an experienced lawyer in that area.