Understanding Workers Compensation Immunity

One of the places that we spend the most of our time at, and where we might engage in our most dangerous or potentially risky activities, is at work. And because of that, our employers have a legal obligation to keep us as safe as possible while we’re at work.

But injuries at work do happen, and when they do, you may ask whether or not you can sue your boss or your employer, for injuries that you sustain on the job.

Getting Workers Compensation

The answer is a conditional no; you cannot sue your employer, if you are injured at work, at least not for personal injuries. That is because of what is known as workers compensation immunity.

If you are afforded workers compensation at work, which most employees are, your only recourse to get recovery after an accident at work, is through making a claim through your workers compensation insurance.

One good thing about workers compensation is that you don’t have to prove fault. It doesn’t matter how you were injured or whether anybody made any errors. If you’re injured at work in any way you get the benefit of whatever medical attention that workers compensation provides.

The Tradeoff

But this ease and quickness comes at a cost; as a tradeoff, you don’t get to sue your employer for personal injuries the way you would some random person or business that injured you. And no, you can’t choose between accepting or receiving workers compensation or suing for personal injuries; if your job provides workers compensation, you cannot sue your employer for injuries sustained on the job.

Unlike suing for personal injuries, workers compensation does not allow you to recover for non-economic damages, things like pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, anxiety, loss of companionship or all those other things you can’t put an exact price tag on, that you could sue for if you were allowed to bring your lawsuit through the personal injury system. It also won’t allow you to collect things like future medical expenses or future lost wages, other than in some cases where you’re permanently disabled.

The Exceptions

There are some exceptions, where you could sue your own employer for negligence, even if you have or receive workers compensation.

One is if your employer’s actions were so wanton, reckless and careless, that they went beyond negligence; the employer’s behavior would have to have been so careless as to almost have been intentional.

You also can still sue third parties that injure you on the job; that is, any business or person whose negligence caused you injury, that isn’t your employer. For example, if you are a construction worker working on a roadway and a negligent driver hits and injures you, even though you were injured on the job and afforded workers compensation insurance, the driver that hit you was not your employer, and thus, you could sue him or her for your injuries.

Injured at work-by anybody? Schedule a consultation with our Tampa personal injury lawyers at Barbas, Nunez, Sanders, Butler & Hovsepian today for help after any kind of accident, whether on the job or not.

Source:

flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2011/0440.11