What is a third-party liability claim?

Third-party liability is a fancy legal term that may get thrown around when talking about a workplace injury.

Like other Floridians, most workers in West Palm Beach are protected by workers’ compensation benefits, which is insurance that employers legally must procure on their employee’s behalf.

Workers’ compensation is awarded on what is called a no-fault basis, which means that an employee can get benefits even if their work-related accident was partially or even all their fault. This enables employees, at least in theory, to get benefits quickly and without too much hassle.

But there is a tradeoff. For one, while workers’ compensation pays for a lot, it doesn’t pay for everything. It will not cover all of an employee’s lost wages, and it certainly won’t pay for things like pain and suffering and the like, even though these are very real injuries that are just hard to quantify.

However, because they carry workers’ compensation, employers are general protect from lawsuits filed by their own employees. Then result is that a worker could wind up not having another place to turn for compensation even though they need additional funds to get by financially after a serious injury.

In these sorts of situations, a worker may be able to pursue a third-party liability claim, although this will depend on the facts and circumstances of the accident. Basically, third-party liability allows a worker to sue other people or businesses that might be at fault for their workplace injury, even if the worker is entitled to workers’ compensation.

An example would be if a construction worker gets hurt at a highway work zone by a speeding motorist. The worker may not be able to pursue her employer for any more than worker’s compensation benefits, but she can try to make up in shortfall in compensation by also suing the negligent driver.

West Palm Beach, Florida, workers’ compensation attorneys who also have experience with personal injury claims may be able to help injured workers pursue third-party liability claims after collecting workers’ compensation benefits.