After suffering an injury, you’re left trying to pick up the pieces of your life. Paying for medical bills and finding a way to support your family can be tough, meaning you should explore all of your legal options.
However, before you can get the compensation you need to move on with your life, it’s important to ask what kind of claim you should file: Work injury or personal injury. While many people may not realize it, each of these claims has specific requirements you must meet before you will receive a settlement of any type.
Learn about the difference between work injury claims and personal injury claims, and find out when you should hire a workers’ compensation lawyer.
How Fault Applies
When it comes to work injury claims and personal injury claims, the main difference is in having to prove fault. For personal injury suits, you will have to prove that another person was directly responsible for your injury.
On the other hand, in work injury claims, fault has no bearing. No matter who caused your workplace accident, you will still be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Because proving fault can be tremendously difficult, it often takes longer for you to receive your compensation from a personal injury claim than it does from a worker injury claim.
What Type of Damages Are Available?
The other major difference between workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury claim is in terms of the damages available to you. Due to the fact that workers’ comp is specifically designed to replace lost wages, your benefits will be set at a certain amount, meaning you cannot pursue further damages for mental pain and anguish.
In contrast, personal injury claims have a number of different damages available to you, including pain and anguish. Although these can sometimes be hard to prove, it can increase the final settlement by a substantial amount.
Legal Options
Finally, but perhaps most importantly, the legal options for personal injury claims and work injury claims are vastly different. Workers’ compensation was designed to help workers who have been injured on the job and can no longer support themselves.
However, these laws were written with the caveat that workers who are covered by workers’ comp give up their rights to bring a lawsuit against their employer. There are two exceptions to this rule: Crew members on a boat and interstate road workers. If you belong to these classes of worker, then you can still sue your employer for damages.
When it comes to personal injury lawsuits, the only real legal threshold is the existence of fault. If you believe you can prove fault, you can file a personal injury lawsuit.
Recover With Help from a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
In some cases, you will be denied your rightful workers’ comp benefits, leaving you in a very vulnerable financial position. To fight for your workers’ comp benefits, you need the help of a workers’ compensation lawyer from Braker White. Our dedicated attorneys will gather the facts of your case and work to get the settlement that you need and deserve. Schedule a consultation with us today.
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