Personal Injury Cases vs. Workers’ Compensation Claims

If you’ve been injured in an accident, you may be wondering what the best course of action is to get the compensation you deserve. If you’ve been injured on the job, you may only be able to collect a modest worker’s compensation claim from your employer. In other cases, however, you may be able to collect more money by filing a personal injury lawsuit. Let’s take a look at what is entailed by each of these forms of compensation.

Workers’ Compensation

This type of compensation is derived from an insurance fund that all employers must pay into each year. No fault must be established to collect workers’ comp, and all employees working on the books are eligible to collect. Negligence on the part of the injured party also does not disqualify them from collecting workers’ comp. If you can’t work due to an injury, this provides a reliable form of income, but unfortunately it will be only a fraction of your regular paycheck.

Personal Injury Claims

In order to file this type of lawsuit, fault must be established on the part of a property owner or other party responsible for the injury. By paying into workers’ compensation insurance, employers (as well as co-workers) are protected from this type of claim. If you’re injured on the job while on someone else’s private property, however, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the property owner. The payout from personal injury claims is typically far higher than that of workers’ comp, but there’s no guarantee that you will win the case. If you do receive money from a personal injury claim, it will likely cover all your wages lost as a result of the accident plus additional compensation for pain and suffering.

Do you think you might be eligible to collect on a personal injury claim? The attorneys at Ask4Sam can work to ensure you receive the highest possible payout to cover the costs of your injury. Give us a call today to learn more.