Workplace Injury & Third-Party Claims

Workers' compensation is a floor, not a ceiling.

If you are hurt on the job, workers' compensation pays medical bills and a fraction of lost wages, and in exchange you generally cannot sue your employer. Most people are told that and stop there.

But the compensation 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

1. Did equipment fail — and who built, installed, inspected, or maintained it?
2. Was anyone on that site who did not work for your employer?
3. Did a vehicle cause it, and whose vehicle was it?

If the answer to any of them is yes, there is likely a second claim, and it is usually worth considerably more than the compensation claim.

Nothing about pursuing it costs you your compensation benefits, though the compensation carrier will generally assert a lien against the recovery — which is itself something to negotiate rather than simply pay.

Hurt at work by a third party? Read the guide →

Call (202) 524-0123 for a free consultation.