When you are hurt at work, whether the injury is from an accident or a long-term effect of the job, you might become unable to work. On top of the possible loss of your income, you might have medical bills to consider. For most workers, Florida’s workers’ compensation program provides a way to be compensated for medical bills and some missed wages.
There are some instances when employees might not be satisfied with the compensation that is offered by workers’ compensation coverage. While that is a troubling circumstance, it might not necessarily lead to a lawsuit against the employer. Instead, you can appeal the workers’ compensation decision.
That isn’t to say that lawsuits are never possible in the case of an on-the-job injury or illness. In some cases, such as when you have been denied workers’ compensation benefits and have gone through all the appeals that are possible, you might opt to file a lawsuit in an attempt to get benefits.
Another possible situation would be if the injury or illness was because of a third party. A lawsuit against the third party would be possible. An example of this would be if defective scaffolding led to a fall that caused an injury. The scaffolding company could be sued because of the defect.
Employees who are injured on the job have to consider their options carefully. For example, if you receive workers’ compensation and file a lawsuit against a third party, you might have to repay some workers’ compensation benefits if you are awarded compensation for the third party lawsuit.
Source: FindLaw, “Workers’ Compensation: Can I Sue My Employer Instead?,” accessed Oct. 22, 2015
