Can You Get “Third Party” Damages for Your Workplace Accident?

Workers’ compensation typically won’t pay you your full lost wages, and will not allow you to recover for any pain, suffering, emotional trauma, or other harms arising from the accident. In some cases, however, if the accident was caused by someone other than your employer or a co-employee, you may also file a lawsuit against that “third party” to recover any damages that exceed the amount of your workers comp benefits.

There are many types of workplace accidents that can give rise to third party liability. An example would be someone who is driving for work, and is rear ended by another driver. That person would be able to apply for workers’ compensation, and then, may also be able to file suit against the other driver to recover any losses that weren’t covered by workers’ compensation. Third party actions aren’t limited to traffic accidents though. Third party lawsuits can arise from accidents caused by defective products, machine malfunctions, or the negligent actions of an outside contractor, subcontractor, or even a superior contractor at your worksite.

Please contact us if you or a loved one has been injured in a workplace accident, and let us investigate whether there may be a third party who was responsible for these injuries.