Personal Injury sustained at work

Have you been injured at your workplace or while performing your work duties, such as a slip and fall? If so, you may be thinking of filing a workers compensation claim to pay for your medical bills and help to recover your damages. However, did you know that you can also file a personal injury claim, which may provide you with better compensation than workers’ comp?

Generally, workers assume that when they are injured at work, the only option they have is through workers’ compensation; but in some situations, it’s possible to file a personal injury claim  for a work accident as well. Many believe that this is considered ‘suing’ your boss, when in reality a third party may be responsible, such as the owner of the building. In this scenario, the third party’s insurance would be responsible for handling the cost of their safety shortcomings. Here we have provided information about which claim option would work best under particular circumstances:

The difference between a workers’ comp claim and a personal injury claim is that the latter are not limited to any specific set of people (i.e. workers). In fact, anyone who is injured due to the negligence of another is eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit, including workers. But in order for an injured worker to recover damages through this more broad route, they must be able to prove that another person or party was at fault or negligent, and caused the injuries. (Notice how this is different from a workers compensation claim in which the injured person doesn’t need to prove fault or could be the one at fault themselves.

Unlike workers comp damages, personal injury damages are compensatory, which can include medical expenses, lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, and damages for pain and suffering resulting from the injury. Notice how workers comp does not allow for this non-economic area of recovery.