Hurt at Work by Someone Who Doesn't Work for Your Employer? You May Have a Second Claim
Short answer: you probably have a second claim, and it is usually worth far more than the workers' compensation claim.
What the compensation bar does — and does not do
Workers' compensation is a trade: you get medical coverage and partial wage replacement without having to prove fault, and in exchange you generally cannot sue your employer. Most injured workers are told that and stop there.
But the bar protects your employer. It does not protect the outside maintenance contractor who serviced the machine, the manufacturer who built it, the driver of the other vehicle, the general contractor who controlled the site, or the property owner who let the hazard sit. A claim against any of them is an ordinary negligence case — with pain and suffering, full wage loss, and no statutory schedule.
Three questions worth asking about any workplace injury
- Did equipment fail — and who built, installed, inspected, or maintained it?
- Was anyone on that site who did not work for your employer?
- Did a vehicle cause it, and whose vehicle was it?
If the answer to any of them is yes, there is likely a third-party claim — and it deserves its own investigation, on its own timeline, before evidence disappears.
The lien — and why it is negotiable
Pursuing the third-party claim does not cost you your compensation benefits. The compensation carrier will generally assert a lien against the third-party recovery for what it has paid — but that lien is itself something to negotiate rather than simply pay. Reducing it is part of the job, and it goes straight to what you take home.
Workplace injury & third-party claims →
Talk to us before you talk to the insurance company. The consultation is free. Call (202) 524-0123 or send us the details.