Getting Both Personal Injury Compensation and Workers' Compensation

If you are injured in a car or some other accident, in a slip and fall, or as a result of medical malpractice or defective devices and/or medicines, you have sustained a personal injury. You can be eligible for certain personal injury compensation, which can be worked out with car insurance companies, manufacturers, retailers, or others, or in a court of law after a legal personal injury proceeding. Such compensation may come in two forms: compensatory damages, which seek to pay monetary and non-monetary damages for your injury and the effects of your injury, and punitive damages, which are designed to punish those who are responsible for your injury.

What is Workers Compensation?

If you are injured on the job, you may be entitled to workers, or workman’s compensation. Workers comp eligibility depends on a variety of factors, including your injury, how it was sustained, what your employer’s workers comp insurance policies state, what your state statutes require in such cases, and more.

Can I Get Both Personal Injury and Workers Compensation?

Workers compensation is typically offered to employees in order to free an employer up from personal injury lawsuits. Workers compensation is considered an “exclusive remedy,” which means you cannot collect both workers comp from your employer for your injury, and then turn around and sue them under personal injury statutes.

To further understand the differences between workers compensation and personal injury damages, consider:

Workers Compensation

If an employer’s workers comp insurer and employee cannot agree to the terms of the workers comp case, the case will be heard by a Workers Compensation Board.
Employers who offer workers comp cannot be sued for personal injury.
Workers comp is provided without the need to find who is at fault, or liable for an injury.
Workers comp will pay portions of medical bills and ensuing expenses, but will not cover other areas of loss, including pain and suffering.

Personal Injury Law

If an injured party cannot come to an agreement with those who have allegedly caused the injury, the former has the right to take the latter to court.
The injured party bears the burden of proof, and must prove that the defendant was willfully careless or negligent in causing the accident or injury.
In personal injury claims, the “victim” can be awarded damages to cover not only medical expenses, but also other compensation, such as that for pain and suffering.

Getting Help

Whenever you suffer an injury, you should consult with a lawyer as soon as you can after learning the extent of your damages. Your lawyer can help you to decide what legal means for recovery you have and which option is your best bet for collecting from the person who hurt you.

Have a Personal Injury Case?