A workplace injury can leave more questions than answers. Medical bills begin to arrive, time away from work affects household income and workers’ compensation benefits may not seem to cover every loss. Many injured workers assume they cannot bring any other claim because the accident happened on the job. In Pennsylvania, that is not always the case. If someone other than an employer contributed to the accident, a separate personal injury claim may also be available. Identifying every potentially responsible party is often the first step.
Why can’t you usually sue your employer?
Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation system generally serves as the exclusive remedy against an employer for a covered work injury. Workers do not usually have to prove that their employer caused the accident to receive benefits. Those benefits may cover necessary medical treatment and part of the worker’s lost wages.
However, this protection generally applies to the employer. A separate person or company may still bear responsibility for the accident. That distinction may create an additional avenue for compensation.
When might a third party be responsible?
A third party is generally a person or business outside the worker’s employer. Depending on the circumstances, examples may include:
- A driver who hits a delivery worker on the road
- A manufacturer that supplied defective workplace equipment
- Another contractor that created a dangerous condition at a construction site
- A property owner whose unsafe premises injured a visiting worker
If another party caused the injury, a personal injury claim may provide compensation beyond workers’ compensation benefits, including pain and suffering. That makes identifying everyone involved important.
What happens if both claims apply?
Receiving workers’ compensation does not automatically prevent a third-party personal injury claim. However, Pennsylvania law may require repayment of some workers’ compensation benefits if the injured worker later recovers compensation from the responsible third party. Since a third-party recovery can trigger a repayment obligation, coordinating both claims can help clarify how one recovery may affect the other.