In the state of Florida, employers with more than 4 employees are required by law to provide workers’ compensation insurance to their employees. This means that if you are injured or if you aggravate a pre-existing condition while on the job, you are eligible to collect benefits, such as money for lost wages and medical expenses. Yet filing a workers’ compensation claim is different from filing other types of injury claims. This is because workers’ compensation laws strictly control what types of damages you are allowed to seek after an injury.
Differences Between Workers’ Compensation Claims and Other Injury Claims
- No Fault Needed – In workers’ compensation claims, fault does not need to be established in order to receive compensation. Even if you were to blame for your injury or accident, you will still be eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits.
- No Pain and Suffering – Unlike personal injury cases, workers who are injured on the job are not eligible to be compensated for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering or emotional distress.
- No Full Loss of Wages – In personal injury cases, accident victims are allowed to seek reimbursement for their full loss of wages. In workers’ compensation cases, however, workers are only allowed to receive ⅔ of their lost wages. This can be particularly difficult for already struggling families who relied on all of their income to pay their monthly expenses.
- Timely Payments – Unlike personal injury cases, where injured victims may wait months or even years to collect compensation, workers are often paid quickly and in a timely manner throughout the course of their injury.
- Lawsuits Not Allowed – In most cases, an employee cannot file a personal injury lawsuit against an employer if they’ve already filed a workers’ compensation claim. There are some exceptions to this. In some situations, there may be a third party to blame for your injury or your injury may not have occured during the course of your employment.
Collecting Workers’ Compensation Isn’t Easy
While it may seem easy to collect workers’ compensation benefits if you’ve been injured, this is often not the case. Depending on your injury and the severity of your injury, your workers’ compensation claim may be denied – even when you are rightly entitled to benefits. Since workers’ compensation insurance companies work on behalf of the employer, claims are often unfairly denied. As a result, many injured Florida workers never receive the full benefits to which they are entitled.
During this time, an experienced Florida workers’ compensation lawyer can protect your rights and help you collect all of your benefits. From your initial filing through the appeals process, your attorney will fight diligently to protect you during this difficult time.
Have You Been Injured on the Job?
If you have been injured while working in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Orlando, or anywhere in the state of Florida, our Florida workers’ compensation attorneys are just one call away. At Sternberg | Forsythe, P.A., our attorneys have the experience and resources needed to win even the most complex workers’ compensation case. Contact a Florida work injury attorney at 561-687-5660.