If you are injured on the job, you may wonder how to go about seeking recovery.
If you are injured on the job, you may wonder how to go about seeking compensation for your losses. Who is responsible for your injuries? What are the potential sources of recovery?
You may have heard of personal injury claims and workers comp lawsuits - both of which can reimburse an injured victim for damages sustained in work-related injuries. However, what many people don’t know is that these two types of claims are vastly different. In this blog post, we will break down the differences between them.
The most straightforward way to distinguish the two claims is the issue of fault. Personal injury claims are based on fault, while workers comp claims are not.
Accidents often happen when no one is at fault. However, in a personal injury claim, you must establish that someone acted negligently and this negligence caused your injuries. You establish negligence by showing that the at-fault party owed you a duty of reasonable care, breached that duty, and that breach was a substantial factor in causing your injuries.
In a workers comp claim, however, the traditional negligence analysis does not necessarily apply. Any employee injured on the job is entitled to some payout from the employer’s workers compensation policy. While exceptions do apply, workers compensation generally has nothing to do with fault. In other words, you need not prove that your employer did anything wrong in order to recover some payout.
Generally, not against your employer. Workers comp claims are designed to compensate injured employees while protecting employers from lawsuits against them. As such, if you file a workers comp claim, you generally forfeit your right to sue your employer for negligence. There are a few narrow exceptions to this rule, however, so be sure to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney to learn more about your rights.
However, if the negligence of a another party caused your injuries, then you may be able to also bring a third party liability claim against that party.
When you are injured on the job, you can bring a workers compensation claim without having to prove fault. However, in some cases you can also bring a third party liability claim. This refers to a bodily injury caused by a third party’s negligent or reckless conduct.
These situations may arise when a third party unrelated to your employer causes the accident. A common example is when someone driving in the course of their employment gets hit by another party.
If you bring a third party liability claim, you will need to prove the third party’s fault. This involves walking through the traditional negligence analysis, just as you would in a personal injury lawsuit.
To better understand your case and which course of action is the best for you, contact an experienced Milwaukee personal injury attorney as soon as possible. An attorney can help you pinpoint the best approach for your case, identify liable parties, gather evidence, and preserve your claim before vital evidence fades or the statute of limitations tolls.
Contact Natasha Misra Law today to schedule a free consultation by calling our office at (414) 210-3834.
