If you are injured at work on a job site, then the most frequent outcome of an accident is that you will receive compensation through workers' compensation. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, and you will need to hire a job site accident lawyer under these circumstances.
Workers' Compensation vs. Personal Injury
With a workers' compensation case, you will be entitled to compensation as long as your injuries are work-related. Even if you were partially at fault for your injuries, you will still be entitled to compensation. However, personal injury cases work differently.
With a personal injury case, you will only be able to pursue compensation for your injuries if your injuries were the direct result of negligence. For example, if your employer created an unsafe work environment, then you may be able to seek compensation for your injuries afterward.
Advantages of a Personal Injury Claim
While you will need to prove negligence on the part of your employer, you will still be entitled to compensation for a larger range of damages. For example, you cannot receive compensation for pain and suffering through a workers' compensation claim, but you can receive compensation for this through a personal injury claim.
However, there are only some circumstances in which you will be able to file a personal injury claim instead of a workers' compensation claim.
When You Should File a Personal Injury Claim
You must be an employee of a company to file a workers' compensation claim. If you were an independent contractor and you were injured due to the negligence of the individual who hired you, then this would become a personal injury case.
Workers' compensation does not apply to cases where you are intentionally injured. For example, if you had a malicious employer who created dangerous conditions with the specific goal of causing you to become injured, then you would file a personal injury claim instead of a workers' compensation claim. Some states do not allow this type of claim, and other states allow this claim even if the individual who injured you was carrying out instructions by the employer.
While all employers should carry workers' compensation insurance, some employers choose not to. You will want to file a personal injury claim in this case. By owning a business, your employer will likely have assets that you can collect to pay for the injuries you have suffered at work.
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