Is Workers’ Compensation My Only Remedy?

You were injured at work and it was not your fault.  You may be wondering if payment of workers’ comp benefits is the only benefit that you are entitled to. Although most often, your only claim for a work related injury is a workers’ comp claim against your employer/insurer, in some instances there is a third party who can be sued as well.

One example of an injured employee who can seek payment by filing a personal injury claim is an employee who is injured in a car accident.  Let’s say you are a home health nurse and you are traveling from one patient’s home to another and you are rear-ended at a stop light.  You are entitled to seek workers’ compensation benefits but you are also entitled to seek a remedy by filing a claim against the driver of the vehicle that hit you.  Another example might be if you are the employee of contracting company in a nursing home.  You are employed by the contracting company to go into the nursing home and perform cleaning services when you slip and fall on a wet floor.  Under these circumstances you are entitled to seek work comp benefits from your employer but you may also be able to file suit against the nursing home for the slip and fall on their premises.  In each of these instances the workers’ comp insurance company can seek reimbursement of what it has paid from your PI settlement.    It is wise to hire an attorney to fight the WC reimbursement.

If your injured at work contact the Law Offices of Laura Lanzisera and we will help you navigate the workers’ compensation system and get you the benefits you deserve.