Workers’ Comp Isn’t the Only Option After a Work Injury – Know Your Rights

When you are hurt at work, you may suffer serious and even long-term injuries. Your employer’s workers’ compensation coverage may provide you with payment for the medical bills you had, but you could be facing numerous other losses. Do not give up just yet. In fact, this is just the beginning of your battle. Workers’ compensation isn’t the only option after a work injury. If you were injured at work it’s important to know your rights.

As personal injuries lawyers, ABOGADAS305 provides comprehensive legal support for those suffering serious injury and loss as a result of an accident that occurred at work. Set up a free consultation with our attorneys now to learn how we can help you.

Are You Leaving Money on the Table?

Florida workers’ compensation laws allow workers to receive compensation for their medical expenses related to any at-work injury or illness they suffer. It also typically covers your lost wages if you are out of work for an extended period of time. Because of workers’ compensation laws, employees are not able to sue their employer when they are hurt at work. Workers’ compensation somewhat defrays that ability. Many people accept that this workers’ comp is all you can get for your work injury.

However, there are numerous situations in which you may be leaving money on the table. Consider a few scenarios that may apply to your situation.

Who Caused the Accident?

There are some situations in which another person outside of your job caused the situation. For example, it may be a reckless driver who slammed into you while you were driving a commercial truck. That driver could be responsible for your injuries.

If you fall due to a faulty staircase at the job site, the property owner, not just your employer, may be responsible for your injuries. If you can demonstrate that they knew this risk existed and did not warn you or fix the problem, that property owner could be responsible for your losses.

If you work with equipment and it breaks down, causing an injury or releasing a toxic chemical that causes cancer, the manufacturer of that equipment could be held responsible if you can demonstrate fault.

While it may seem that only your employer is responsible, in these cases, you may have far more opportunity to recover damages than just workers’ compensation. To be clear, this does not apply to every work injury. However, it happens often, and most people have no idea there is another way to recover damages they truly deserve.

Can You Get Pain and Suffering Compensation from a Work Injury?

As noted, the law eliminates the possibility of filing a lawsuit against your employer if you are hurt at work. You can recover any documented losses you have, such as medical bills and lost time at work. That means pain and suffering, a type of non-economic damage claim, is off the table.

However, while your employer’s workers’ comp may not cover pain, suffering, or full wage recovery, you may still be able to pursue it if you can show another party is responsible for your losses. This is done through a third-party claim. If you can demonstrate negligence on behalf of anyone else involved in the incident, you have the right to pursue full compensation for those losses through a lawsuit against that party.

Many people do not know that this is their right. That is why our workers’ comp attorneys provide free consultations to those who are hurt on the job. During that consultation, we can start looking at other parties that may also be responsible. To do that, we must prove that the party was negligent. That means proving the following:

• Duty of care: We must first show that the party owed you a duty of care. That means they were legally responsible for ensuring your safety.
• Breach of that duty of care: We can then demonstrate that they did or did not do something that led to a breach of that duty of care.
• Accident cause: The third step is to demonstrate that the breach of duty of care directly caused the accident. There must be a clear link here.
• Losses: Finally, we demonstrate that the accident caused you to suffer injuries and financial losses.

Our experienced workers’ compensation attorneys are poised to help you do just that. We encourage you to seek out a free consultation to learn if we can help you in this process.

How We Determine if You Have a Case Beyond Workers’ Compensation

In every situation, our workers’ comp attorney will discuss your case with you during an in-depth consultation. During that time, we will explore all of the potential opportunities for determining who is at fault. It could be a property owner, equipment manufacturer, or someone nearby who caused the accident. As long as this party is not your employer or an employee on the job, we will explore the details further.

Our lawyers will then look for evidence to back up our suspicions that others are at fault. This evidence is always very specific to the type of incident but may include witness statements, maintenance logs, details from videos, or other resources. This evidence helps us build a case so that we know exactly who is responsible for what happened to you.

Then, we can file a claim to pursue those parties, and often, that means filing a claim with their liability insurance. Remember that this accident was not your fault, and as a result, you should not have to pay for your losses if we can demonstrate that someone else is at fault.

Contact Our Miami Injury Attorneys for a Free Consultation

At ABOGADAS305, our priority is helping you recover the damages you are owed from all parties responsible for your accident. In some situations, a workers’ compensation claim covers your losses, as you are entitled to it under the law. Other times, it may mean going against another party who is at fault for what happened to you. Contact us now at 1-877-305-3055 for a free consultation.

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Deje que las abogadas de lesiones personales de Miami en ABOGADAS305 le ayuden a encarrilar su vida y poner este accidente en el espejo retrovisor.