When you are injured at work, your employer should have workers compensation insurance that allows you to get money for medical bills and lost wages. However, many workers wonder if they can also file a personal injury claim.
Understanding the key differences between workers compensation and personal injury claims can help you figure out what you should do after youve been hurt on the job.
What Is Workers Compensation?
Workers compensation was created for employees to get compensated for injuries suffered while on the job. The injury claims take less time to process because there is no need to prove that another party was negligent.
Even though you will get paid faster through workers compensation to make up for medical expenses and your loss of income, there is a downside. With workers compensation, you give up your ability to sue for pain and suffering or other damages.
How Is a Personal Injury Claim Different from Workers Comp?
Personal injury cases are civil lawsuits filed against another party whose negligence caused your injuries, pain and suffering, and other damages. For a personal injury claim, you must be able to prove that another party was negligent in causing the accident that led to your injuries. You must also prove that the accident resulted in financial losses.
In a personal injury case, you can seek compensation for more than just your medical bills and lost wages. You can seek compensation for mental anguish, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, property damage, and more.
Is It Possible to File a Personal Injury Claim After Youve Been Hurt at Work?
Generally, you wont be able to file a personal injury claim after filing a workers compensation claim when youre hurt on the job. However, personal injury attorneys advise that if you are injured at work because of your employers gross negligence, you may also be able to file a personal injury claim.
Perhaps you were hurt because your employer forced you to climb a tall structure without the required safety harness. This is an example of gross negligence by not following proper safety protocol.
In other scenarios, it may not be your employer who is responsible but rather a third party. If your employer always enforces wearing a safety harness while working at great heights, but that harness breaks because of something wrong with the design, you could file a personal injury claim against the manufacturer of the harness.
How to Proceed After You Have Been Injured at Work
Some accidents on the job are easily resolved via workers compensation. However, others can be far more complicated and will require an attorney. If your employer neglects to file the paperwork for your claim or doesnt have the required workers compensation insurance, you will need to take legal action.
To find out whether or not your injuries should be covered by workers comp or if you should file a personal injury lawsuit, contact a lawyer experienced in these legal matters.
Disclaimer:
- As per the Public Gambling Act of 1867, all Indian states, except Goa, Daman and Sikkim, prohibit gambling
- Land-based casinos are legalized, with certain guidelines, in Goa and Daman, as per the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act 1976
- Land-based casinos, Online gambling and E-gaming (games of chance) are legalized in Sikkim under the Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation) Rules 2009
- Only some Indian states have legalized online/regular lotteries as per and subject to the conditions laid down by state laws. Kindly refer to the same here
- Horse racing and betting on horse racing, including online betting, is permitted only in a licensed premise in select states. Kindly refer to the 1996 Judgement by the Supreme Court Of India here and for more information
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