Workers’ Compensation vs. Personal Injury Claims: Which is Right for Me?

Workers’ Compensation vs. Personal Injury Claims: Which is Right for Me?

Have you been injured while carrying out your work duties? Most employees believe they can only take advantage of workers’ compensation when they get injured at their workplace. However, this isn’t always the case. In some instances, you can file a personal injury claim for accidents you experience at work.

Another aspect that deters many employees from taking this route is most believe that filing a personal injury claim means they’re directly suing their boss. However, this is far from the truth. To make this complex topic a bit easier to discern, we’ll walk you through it using easily understood examples and common circumstances.

Workers’ Compensation Claim

The principal difference between workers’ compensation and personal injury claims is proving fault. When you file a workers’ comp claim, you don’t have to prove that anyone has caused the injury you’ve sustained.

You could receive workers’ compensation even if the injury was your fault. This is the most critical aspect of workers’ compensation. It’s set in place to protect all workers who experience harm in any way.

If you file a workers’ comp claim, you’ll only receive coverage for economic costs, such as medical expenses, a percentage of your wages, and so on. You won’t be eligible to receive any compensation for the pain and suffering the injury has put you through.

Personal Injury Claim

Unlike a workers’ compensation claim, personal injury claims aren’t limited to any specific set of people, like employers and employees. If you are injured because of someone else’s negligence, you can usually file a personal injury lawsuit. However, you must prove that the person did cause your injuries due to their negligence.

An example of when you can file a personal injury claim for a work-related injury is if you’ve experienced an auto accident. For instance, if you’re a delivery driver working your regular route when a distracted or drunk driver hits you, you can file a lawsuit against the driver who caused the accident.

These circumstances provide you with the option of filling both a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury claim. Just keep in mind that getting compensated by several parties can be a challenging undertaking.

In addition to the above example, several different cases may provide you with the option of filing a personal injury claim.

• A third-party’s negligence caused the injury Your employer’s conduct was intentional or evidently expected to cause the injury.
• The injury involves an illegal or toxic substance.
• Your employer doesn’t carry worker’s comp insurance.
• A defective product caused the injury.

Have You Been Injured While Working? Contact Eden Rafferty

If you’ve experienced any injuries while carrying out your work duties, you deserve to know all of the available options you can utilize to obtain fair compensation. Knowing how to recover costly physical and financial damages can be the key factor that decides whether you’ll experience significant financial stress or recuperate entirely.

Going through this process alone can be overwhelming and insurmountable. With that in mind, it’s crucial to have an experienced and skilled personal injury lawyer at your side. At Eden Rafferty, we have over eight decades of collective experience in both personal injury and workers’ compensation, backed by strong track records. Contact us right away for a free consultation.