If you get injured on the job, it’s easy to understand that you deserve workers’ compensation if it feels like it was out of your control. Maybe a coworker made a mistake that caused your injury. Perhaps a machine malfunctioned or something else unexpected occurred. You were just trying to do your job, you got hurt in the process and so you know that you deserve compensation for medical bills, lost wages and more.
However, if you were the one who made the mistake and caused the injury, then you may believe that you can’t seek workers’ comp. Is this true, or can you still get benefits?
It is a no-fault system
The truth is that you often can seek workers’ comp, even if you were at fault. This is because the system was set up with no-fault laws. Fault is not a requirement and doesn’t have to be proven.
This is much different than other types of personal injury cases. For example, if you get injured in a car accident, proving that the other driver was at fault is very important. They would be liable for your injuries and have to cover those costs.
But workers’ comp laws were not set up the same way. Instead, businesses are protected from lawsuits coming from their own employees as long as they provide workers’ comp benefits to employees who get injured. Even if the employee caused that injury, they will generally still get these benefits unless there is an extreme situation – such as an employee who was intoxicated at work or who was intentionally engaging in an unauthorized, dangerous activity.
If you have been injured, then it’s very important for you to know exactly what steps to take at this time.