In many personal injury cases, who is at fault makes a big difference. You usually cannot seek financial compensation if you cause a car accident, for example. If you’re trying to sue someone else for injuring you so that you can get compensation yourself, you need to show that they caused the accident – negligently or intently – and that the accident led directly to your injuries and the bills you’re now facing.
Most people understand the basics of how this works, so it can throw them off a bit if they are involved in a workplace accident. A person may believe that they were responsible for their own injury. They made a mistake while using heavy equipment or power tools, for instance. Maybe they just slipped and fell, but it wasn’t anyone else’s fault. Does this mean they can’t get workers’ comp benefits?
A no-fault system
For injured workers, the good news is that workers’ comp is essentially a no-fault system. Your qualification for workers’ comp benefits is not determined by who caused your injuries. Instead, the key point is whether or not those injuries happened while you were on the job.
This means that you often do not have to sue your employer or prove fault. You may only start a lawsuit if there’s a third-party claim. But you can still make a workers’ comp claim to your own employer, regardless of fault. This should cover your medical bills for work-related injuries, along with paying you a portion of the wages that you are going to miss.
That said, if your claim is denied or if you are unsure how to proceed, it is important to carefully look into the legal process.
