Differences between Workers’ Comp & Personal Injury
If you’re injured by someone else’s negligence, you can seek compensation for your full range of physical, financial, and emotional losses in a personal injury claim. If you’re injured on the job, however, the matter of negligence won’t play a role in your workers’ compensation claim, but your coverage will be less comprehensive. Understanding the distinctions between the two can provide you with a better understanding of your own claim, and one of the most important early steps you should take is consulting with an experienced Greenville personal injury attorney who has considerable experience successfully handling workers’ comp claims.
Personal Injury Claims Are Based on Fault
To bring a successful personal injury claim, you’ll need to prove each of the following elements:
- The other party had a responsibility to your safety – the way other drivers and property owners do.
- They failed to live up to this responsibility, such as when a driver is distracted or when a property owner fails to implement the same level of care that other property owners do under similar circumstances.
- Their negligence was the direct cause of the accident in question.
- You suffered legal damages as a result.
Workers’ Compensation Claims Are No-Fault
Your employer is required to cover you with workers’ compensation insurance, which kicks in if you are injured at work. The difference between a workers’ comp claim and a personal injury claim, however, is that the workers’ compensation process is no-fault. In other words, if you’re injured at work, you’re covered, and there is no need to prove that your injuries are the result of your employers’ – or anybody else’s – negligence.
Personal Injury Coverage Is More Comprehensive
In a personal injury claim, you can seek compensation for your complete losses in each of the following categories:
- Property damage, such as to your car and its contents, in a traffic crash
- Medical costs
- Lost wages
- Physical and emotional pain and suffering
Workers’ Compensation Coverage Is Less So
The coverage you can seek in a workers’ compensation claim is narrower in scope than it is for personal injury claims. While you’re covered for those medical tests, treatments, and procedures that are considered necessary, this may not mean all of them. Further, workers’ compensation pays out a specific percentage of your lost earnings and does not address pain and suffering.
Personal Injury vs. Workers’ Comp
Personal injury claims offer fuller coverage, but the legal intricacies involved are more exacting, which includes proving the negligent party’s fault in the matter. Workers’ compensation claims, on the other hand, involve a less daunting process, but you can expect a lower overall settlement. There are instances, however, when even a work-related injury can support a personal injury case, and negligence on the part of a third party, such as a subcontractor or tool manufacturer in a construction accident, is a prime example.
Consult with an Experienced Greenville Personal Injury Lawyer Today
The savvy Greenville personal injury attorneys at Fulton & Barr Attorneys at Law dedicate our imposing practice to helping clients like you fully recover compensation for their losses, and we encourage you to contact us online or call 864-513-8537 for more information today.