When Personal Injury Becomes Worker Injury Compensation

If you have been injured at work, it is important that you understand the difference between personal injury law and worker injury compensation programs such as Workers Comp.

Workers Compensation

Worker injury compensation in the vast majority of cases comes from a worker's compensation system. Every state in the US has adopted the worker's compensation system as an alternative to the tort system. Most workers, with the exception of a limited number of self employed individuals and agricultural or farm workers, are covered by worker's compensation. If a worker is covered, he cannot sue for personal injury damages when he is injured at work. Instead, he must recover under the worker's compensation program.

When is a Personal Injury a Worker's Compensation Injury?

The specific rules and definitions vary slightly by state, but generally any injury that arises out of your work duties is considered a worker's compensation injury. This means if you were physically at work and hurt while doing your job, this can be a worker's comp case. If you were walking around in your office and slipped on a wet floor, this too can be a worker's compensation case. If you were picking up your bosses lunch and got into a car accident, this too can be a worker's compensation case, as long as you can prove you were performing work duties or doing your job when injured.

Differences Between Personal Injury and Worker's Compensation

There are some important differences between worker's compensation and personal injury that you should be aware of so you know what to expect if you are injured at work:

With personal injury cases, you can either settle or sue. If you sue, the case goes to court and the jury decides your damages. With worker's compensation cases, you file a claim with your employer's workers compensation insurer. The insurer decides if you are covered and you are paid damages according to a predetermined schedule or set of rules (often, this is either based on a state mandated list of payments for specific injuries or based on an impairment rating that assesses the seriousness of your injuries)
With personal injury cases, you usually have to prove the defendant was negligent (although there are some limited exceptions to this rule, such as product liability and dog bite cases where strict liability may be imposed). With worker's compensation, you do not have to prove negligence and your boss or employer need not have been negligent. If you were doing your job and injured, you can recover unless you were expressly violating company policy, or drunk or under the influence at work.

Getting Help

If you have been injured at work, you should consult with an experienced personal injury or worker's compensation attorney as soon as possible. Your attorney can explain to you what rights you have under the worker's compensation system and can help you through the process of recovering your damages.

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