If you’ve been injured, particularly at work, you may be wondering about workers’ comp vs. personal injury.
You may be wondering about what type of compensation you are eligible for regarding personal injury vs. workers’ comp. You may be wondering about who is held liable regarding workers’ comp and personal injury.
The biggest difference between a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury claim or lawsuit is that a personal injury lawsuit or claim is based upon fault, while a workers’ compensation claim is not based upon fault.
In personal injury cases, when an injured party wants to recover damages from someone else, the person the injured party is seeking damages from needs to be negligent, which means that person failed to exercise reasonable care in order to prevent harm.
Differences between workers’ compensation claims and personal injury claims or lawsuits include:
Workers’ Compensation Claims
- Fault is not required
- Pain and suffering benefits are not awarded
- There isn’t a right to file a lawsuit
- Claims are limited to only employees
Personal Injury Claims or Lawsuits
- Fault is required
- All damages suffered are awarded, including pain and suffering
- There is a right to file a lawsuit
- Anyone who is injured is eligible
What Is a Workers’ Compensation Claim?
A workers’ compensation claim provides workers’ compensation benefits to workers whose injuries or illnesses are caused by or arise out of their work. A workers’ comp claim can also pay benefits and medical expenses for permanent or temporary disabilities.
Examples of situations which can lead to workers’ comp claims include:
A single event while at work: injuring your back while falling, being burned by chemicals which splash onto your skin, being hurt in an auto accident while doing a delivery
Multiple exposures while at work: injuring your back, hand or another body part by doing one motion repeatedly, experiencing hearing loss due to constant exposure to loud noise
The workers’ compensation system also covers some psychological injuries, such as stress-related injuries, caused by work, but not all.
Pros
One pro to keep in mind when comparing workers’ compensation and personal injury claims is that an injured worker does not have to prove fault or negligence when filing a workers’ compensation claim.
Another pro to filing workers’ compensation claims is that they include permanent impairment benefits such as covering any medical costs associated with treating your disability.
An additional pro to filing workers’ comp claims is that if you are an injured employee, the claim will usually include temporary disability payments which will often amount to around two-thirds of your regular wage.
One more pro to filing a workers’ comp claim is that if your injury is serious enough to warrant a change of career, workers’ comp claims may help to cover the cost to train you in a new job.
Cons
One con regarding workers’ comp claims is that they only cover lost wages and medical bills, with temporary coverage for disability only covering two-thirds of your wages. Workers’ comp claims may not cover pain and suffering, future medical expenses or punitive damages against your employer.
In addition, the amount of workers’ comp received by injured employees is decided by insurance adjusters who may deny claims.
Also, injured workers can only receive workers’ comp when they are working for a company.
Personal Injury Claims
Personal injury claims may be more useful than workers’ comp claims in some circumstances, since additional damages, like compensation for pain and suffering, can be recovered through personal injury claims.
Pros
One reason you may want to start up a personal injury case is that you may be able to recover more damages if you hire a personal injury lawyer. Workers’ comp claims involve a limited number of types of damages you can recover, but personal injury claims allow you to recover past and future medical costs, full coverage of your lost income, loss of earning capacity, pain, suffering, and punitive damages. Your options for recovery are limited with workers’ comp. Personal injury lawyers can help you recover the full extent of the damages you suffered – because of this, you can often recover more money through a personal injury claim than through a workers’ comp claim.
Another pro is that you can sue any party when filing a personal injury lawsuit – you don’t need to be employed by the party you sue.
Cons
One con to filing a personal injury claim is that you need to be able to prove negligence on behalf of your employer. In other words, your injury needs to have been caused by your employer’s failure to exercise reasonable care in order to prevent harm.
Because of this, filing a personal injury claim instead of a workers’ comp claim can be risky. If you lose your personal injury case, you may not be able to recover the damages you sought.
Personal Injury vs. Workers’ Comp Claims: Which Is Best for You?
The best solution for you will vary, depending upon your individual situation.
Workers’ compensation claims don’t require that negligence be proven, so they can be easier to secure. However, they only cover lost wages and medical bills.
A personal injury claim will not always be available, and will require proof of negligence. However, it might also allow you to recover compensation for additional damages instead of just lost income and medical expenses.
In addition, some circumstances allow for simultaneous workers’ compensation and personal injury claims.
For example, if you’re doing a delivery for your employer and you’re struck by an at-fault driver and injured, you would have a workers’ compensation claim since you were injured while doing your job. However, you’d also have a personal injury claim you could file against the at-fault driver, as that driver wasn’t connected to your work.
If you’re able to file a personal injury claim and work with an injury lawyer who is trustworthy, it’s usually your best option to file a personal injury claim. It might take longer to obtain a recovery, but the amount you’ll be able to recover will typically be much larger than what you’d be able to obtain through a workers’ comp claim.
Statute of Limitations
A statute of limitations is a time limit for filing a claim like a workers’ compensation claim or personal injury claim.
The statute of limitations for workers’ comp claims in California is one year. This means that workers’ compensation claims must be filed within one year of the date of the injury.
However, employers need to be notified of the injury within 30 days if you’re going to file a workers’ comp claim.
The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in California is, in most cases, two years from the date of the injury. However, exceptions to this time limit exist. Some of these exceptions shorten the time limit and some of them lengthen the time limit.
If you have questions about whether you can still file a personal injury lawsuit on time, call us today for a free consultation.
When Would I File a Personal Injury Lawsuit for a Work Injury?
You cannot just file a personal injury lawsuit regarding any injury that happens at work. An injury needs to have been caused by negligence for you to be able to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Examples of situations where you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit regarding an injury at work include:
- You were injured by a defective product – this would let you file a claim against the manufacturer of the product
- The conduct of your employer was intentional, or a reasonable person would conclude it was likely their conduct would cause death or serious harm
- Your injury involved an illegal or toxic substance
- Your employer didn’t carry workers’ compensation insurance
- Your injury occurred due to the negligence of someone who didn’t work for your company, such as another driver in a car accident, or a property owner regarding a slip and fall accident
When to Hire a Lawyer
Call us today for a free consultation if you believe you or your loved one qualify for a personal injury claim regarding an injury which occurred at work.
We have been representing injured workers since 1990 and have recovered over 0,000,000 on behalf of our clients.
If you can’t afford treatment for the injuries you suffered at work, we can get you to doctors who won’t charge you for your treatment until your case is over.
We will handle your personal injury case without charging you any fee to represent you until and unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
Call us today for a free, no obligations consultation.
Jeffrey Nadrich
Jeffrey Nadrich is a nationally-recognized California plaintiff’s personal injury attorney. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Hastings College of the Law. He has successfully represented thousands of injury clients over the last 40 years.
