A workers’ compensation claim differs from a personal injury claim in terms of the fault requirements, and in relation to the types of compensation available.
A workers’ compensation claim is not based on fault.
It does not place blame for the accident on anybody. Workers’ compensation was designed to provide any employee with the ability to seek compensation for any injury that he/she suffered, while on the job.
Comparing rewards for workers’ comp claim with those given to plaintiff that has filed personal injury claim
The rewarded employee receives a weekly compensation, while he or she is unable to work. The same employee receives the funds that would equal the value of any benefits that would accompany the designated period of non-working employment.
Depending on the nature of the employee’s injuries, he/she could get benefits for permanent impairment of some body part that was vital to performance of the employee’s assigned job function. The employee’s medical bills would be paid. He or she could take advantage of paid vocational training.
Someone that had won rewards as the result of a personal injury claim would have the right to seek money for pain and suffering. He or she could seek money to cover medical expenses. He or she could seek compensation for lost wages. Depending on the nature of the injury, the victim’s injury lawyer in Woodbridge might seek compensation for loss of the chance to pursue further earning opportunities.
Legal rights of someone that has filed a workers’ compensation claim
That same worker would not have a right to sue his/her employer, except in specific circumstances.
An employee could sue an employer that had carried out an intentional act of injury. In other words, an employer that had done physical harm to a worker, while he or she was on the job could become the target of a lawsuit.
There are also 2 different industries in which employees do have the right to sue an employer. One of those is the industry in which all workers are members of a crew on a ship. The other industry is the one that ensures the operation of the interstate railroads.
The role of the independent medical exam in a workers’ comp claim and a personal injury claim
In both cases the insurance company has the right to request an independent medical exam (IME). For victims with a personal injury claim, an insurance company cannot request more than one exam for any single victim.
That is not the case with a workers’ compensation claim. In such cases, the insurance company has the right to request a second exam, if it has reason to question the results of the first one, for some reason.
