In many personal injury cases, determining who was at fault is a key component of seeking compensation. A motorcyclist who was struck by another driver will first seek to prove that the driver made a negligent mistake, for instance, and owes them compensation for medical bills, lost wages and the like.
But in workers’ comp cases, things are a bit different. Fault often does not matter because workers’ comp is inherently set up as a no-fault system. An employee who is injured on the job does not have to sue their employer for compensation. They simply have to file a workers’ comp claim, and they should be eligible as long as they were performing the duties of their job and operating in their capacity as an employee at the time of the injury.
This is even true if the worker was technically at fault. A construction worker may have made a mistake with a power tool, for example, resulting in a severe laceration. It was their mistake that caused the injury, but they can typically still seek workers’ comp benefits.
Some minor exceptions
In some cases, there are exceptions that can cause a claim to be denied. A worker who was impaired or intoxicated at the time of the accident may have their claim denied, for example. A worker who intentionally violated safety policies could run into issues, as could a worker who allegedly inflicted the injuries on purpose.
But in the vast majority of cases where it is purely a workplace accident that leads to injury, the employee can seek workers’ comp benefits. These can be very helpful in covering sudden medical costs and replacing a portion of lost wages, so workers need to know exactly what legal steps to take.