Should You File a Workers’ Comp or Personal Injury Claim?

Individuals who have been hurt at work on a construction site frequently wonder whether they should file a workers’ compensation claim or a personal injury lawsuit with the help of construction accident lawyers to recover compensation for their injuries. This article will clarify the difference between personal and workers’ compensation injuries and help you understand your options after a work-related construction injury.

What Do I Need to Know About Workers Comp?

If you get a back injury, you are most certainly entitled to workers’ compensation. A worker gets injured on the job every seven seconds in the United States according to the National Safety Council, and that’s why workers’ compensation insurance is required by most states to cover their employees’ work-related injury expenses.

The best thing about workers’ compensation is that you don’t have to prove that you were negligent. If you get injured at work, your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance covers hospital bills, disability, and death. That’s all there is to it. Taking out workers’ compensation limits your compensation to medical expenditures and other losses. If your injuries are severe enough that you are unable to return to work, it does not account for any lost earnings potential. Workers’ compensation also does not cover physical and psychological suffering or any punitive damages.

What Do I Need to Know About Personal Injury?

A personal injury claim, on the other hand, requires a finding of negligence, but also allows you to seek compensation for all damages relating to your workplace injuries. This includes current and future hospital bills, loss of earnings, and other monetary losses, as well as physical and psychological suffering and other non-monetary damages. You will want construction accident lawyers to help you file a claim.

Can I File Both Workers Comp and Personal Injury?

It’s also worth noting that after filing a workers’ compensation claim for the same accident, you can’t launch a personal injury case against your employer. When receiving or filing for workers’ compensation, employees usually relinquish their right to sue their employer. However, some unusual conditions may exist, such as involving a third party. If a third person was responsible for the injury, then yes, you can file both workers’ comp and personal injury.

Construction workers, in addition to getting workers’ compensation payments, can hire construction accident lawyers who can assist in determining which employer or companies that do not employ the injured worker were culpable in causing the harm and filing a personal injury case.

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