The workers’ compensation claim and the personal injury claim do not have the same fault requirements. In addition, the plaintiffs in a workers’ comp claim do not seek the same types of compensation as those with that have claimed a personal injury.
A comparison of the fault requirements
The plaintiff in a personal injury case must show that someone was negligent. In the absence of all the elements of negligence, the plaintiff has no grounds for filing a personal injury lawsuit.
Any employee that has been injured while on-the-job has a right to seek compensation for that same injury. Moreover, the injured worker has the right to seek compensation by submitting a workers’ compensation claim.
A comparison of the ways that the plaintiffs might be compensated
The plaintiffs in a personal injury case can ask to be compensated for their present and future medical expenses, their loss of wages, their loss of opportunities, their loss of enjoyment of life, and their emotional or mental damages. Those latter damages would fall under the category of pain and suffering.
The plaintiff in a workers’ compensation case has no right to seek money for pain and suffering. That same worker could go after reimbursement of the money spent on medical expenses, and could claim money for lost time in the workplace. Still, someone that has chosen to file a worker’s comp claim would have no right to seek money for pain and suffering.
Usually someone that has filed a personal injury claim has the right to sue the responsible party. That same right has not been granted to those that have filed a workers’ compensation claim. Still, there are some exceptions to that general rule.
One exception pertains to the circumstances that could be related to the worker’s injury. If an employer had sought to do intentional harm to a worker, then the target of the employer’s actions would have a right to sue that same employer.
Two other exceptions relate to the workers in specific industries. Each member of a crew on a vessel has the right to sue their employer. By the same token, each person that has been employed as an interstate railroad worker enjoys the same right to sue an employer.
A Personal Injury Lawyer in Fort Erie might be able to handle a workers’ compensation case, although not all personal injury lawyers have an extensive level of experience, when it comes to dealing with workers’ comp cases. Not all of them have become familiar with the rules that apply exclusively to a personal injury case, or to a workers’ compensation case. That is why a possible plaintiff needs to ask the right questions, when consulting with a personal injury attorney.