No matter where you work, an injury can happen even if employers are diligent in providing protections. How to address from a legal standpoint is very complicated.
Workplace injuries are more common than you might realize. Most recent statistics claim more than 2.6 million recordable cases (2022), and even 5,190 workplace deaths (2021), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The most common injury is exposure to harmful substances or environments, followed by overexertion/body reaction and slips/trips/falls. (National Safety Council data.)
When you are injured at work, your exclusive remedy against your employer is almost always a workers’ compensation claim, meaning you can’t sue your employer for bodily injuries outside the worker’s compensation claim process.
If your injury happened on the job, even if you may consider yourself at fault, your employer likely remains liable to compensating you for lost wages and medical expenses.
However, if a third party (other than your employer) caused your injuries, you may still be able to recover compensation from that third party. Even if you can recover from a third party, you likely will have to pay back your employer’s workers’ compensation carrier for any monies they paid towards your medical care/lost wages.
The Bottom Line: workplace injuries are complicated and differ widely from case to case. You need an experienced attorney to help you sort out whether you have a personal injury claim against someone other than your employer, or whether your claim is in the worker’s compensation tribunal.
When injured at work, or in other locations and situations, your first call should be to the highly experienced team at Doar, Drill & Skow.
