Work injury claims and personal injury claims are both cases dealing with pain and suffering, but they vary in many ways.
Workers compensation cases are not based on fault, whereas a case you argue with a personal injury lawyer is — in a personal injury case, you have to prove negligence or other fault in order to receive damages from another person.
A personal injury lawyer will argue that there is fault in the case, meaning that the other party was negligent in some way or created a defective product. This could be a person not shoveling their snowy walkway, a driver that caused an accident, or a dog owner that allowed their dog to run free and bite people.
In a workers compensation case, your Phoenix accident attorney is not looking to prove fault. Instead, there is no need to prove negligence — in fact, you can even be proven as negligent and still receive benefits in most instances. The difference is that in a personal injury case, you will receive damages for pain and suffering, but in a workers compensation case, you are just getting benefits to cover things like medical bills and a percentage of your lost earnings. Workers compensation benefits exist to help those who are no longer able to work due to injury or accident, but nothing beyond that.
With a workers compensation case that is covered under Arizona’s workers’ compensation act, you are not able to sue your coworkers or employers, in most cases, even if there is negligence, or even gross negligence, involved. However, you may be able to sue these people if they intentionally injured you. This is another reason a workers compensation case is different than a personal injury case — you are given the protections of workers compensation, but it is in exchange for not being able to pursue further damages.
If you are unsure of whether you have a personal injury case or a workers compensation case, legal help is a good place to start. A personal injury lawyer or Phoenix accident attorney can review the circumstances of your situation with you and decide what your next steps should be. If you have experienced an injury or disability, it is important to get compensation in some manner, but the steps you take will be different depending on what legal avenue is most relevant.
Talk to an experienced, qualified attorney about your accident or injury, and work together to get started on building a case, whether you end up seeking damages or going through the workers compensation system.
