After being injured at work, you are entitled to certain benefits from your employer’s workers’ compensation policy. For example, if you have thousands of dollars’ worth of medical bills, you may be able to get those covered. If you had to miss work while you recovered from your injuries, you’d be entitled to 66.67% of your typical wages until you’re able to get back to work. If your injury resulted in permanent disability, you’d have some coverage there as well.
What workers’ compensation does not cover is pain and suffering. Although it’s a big issue, you’re not going to find financial support for the emotional and physical pain you’ve gone through in the workers’ comp policy. How do you get compensated for it? The following are a few ideas.
Filing a Lawsuit Against Your Employer
When you have workers’ compensation coverage, you typically can’t sue your employer, which is part of why many employers have a policy. There’s an exception, however, that you should be aware of. If your employer was particularly negligent, and that’s what caused your injury, there’s a chance you could sue him or her personally for pain and suffering. You’d still be entitled to workers’ compensation, but could seek more through the lawsuit.
Some examples might include a time in which your employer picked a fight with you and knocked you out. Perhaps your employer was supposed to provide you with safety equipment, was reminded multiple times and still failed to do so, which resulted in your injury. These types of very negligent behaviors could result in your ability to sue your employer.
Suing a Third Party to the Accident
There are often third-party participants in workplace injuries. You may be able to sue one of those individuals or entities for pain and suffering. For example, if a coworker was playing a prank on you, and it didn’t go as intended, you could sue him or her for pain and suffering, even though you received workers’ comp for your medical bills and lost wages. If you were injured while operating a certain piece of machinery, and it was a malfunction of the machine that caused the injury, you may be able to sue the manufacturer.
Enlisting Your Attorney To Help
Workplace injuries aren’t as rare as you might think. When you’re injured at work, you’re typically entitled to workers’ comp, but that doesn’t cover pain and suffering. For compensation related to the pain you’ve gone through, enlist work injury attorneys, like from Rispoli & Borneo, P.C., to help you find other avenues.