Most people are under the assumption that you can file for workers’ compensation if you have been injured while on the job. While the majority of the time this is true, there are a few instances in which your employer may not be at fault for your physical or financial damages. One of these instances, for example, is when you have been injured due to the negligence of a third party.

As an example, imagine that you are going on a sales call to a company an hour away from your office. When driving through an intersection, another driver decides to turn left, causing you to crash into their car and be injured in some way. Although you were on the job at the time of the accident, your company will likely not be the source of your compensation. Because the accident was due to the negligence of a third party, in this case the other driver, it may be up to them to provide compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and time off of work. In this case, you will most likely not qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.

This scenario is just one example of a being injured by a third-party while at work. This does not only pertain to car accidents. This could also mean slip and fall injuries, product liability, and even dog bites. If you are injured in one of these ways due to the negligence of another individual, they may be able to provide compensation, even though it happened while you were on the job.

In some cases, you may be able to receive workers’ compensation benefits for these types of accidents. However, if this is the case and, in the future, you receive financial compensation from the third party at fault, you will need to reimburse your employer for the workers’ compensation benefits that you had originally received.

In some specific cases, another third party lawsuit that could occur at work happens surrounding the idea of coworker assault. If a coworker personally injures you due to something that the company had no way of predicting and is in no way related to the job, you may be able to sue in a civil lawsuit. Just as mentioned above, you may be able to receive workers’ compensation benefits, but they will most likely need to be reimbursed in the event of a successful civil lawsuit.

If you have been injured by a third party while at work, you deserve compensation, but in the right way. If you have any more questions regarding third party injury, it is advised to contact an experienced personal injury attorney. At Drake Law Firm, we want to help you through this difficult time. Just because these scenarios can be confusing doesn’t mean that you have to suffer alone. Call us today.