Difference between Workers' Comp and Personal Injury Lawsuits for Construction Workers

If you're a construction worker in New Jersey, you know your job is demanding and dangerous. You work hard every day to build our communities. But when an accident happens, your life can be turned upside down in an instant. Suddenly, you're in pain, out of work, and worried about how you'll pay your bills and support your family. You may know there are ways to get help, but the legal system can seem confusing. Should you file for workers' compensation? Can you file a personal injury lawsuit? What's the difference?

Knowing the answer is important for your future. The path you take can greatly change the amount of financial support you receive.

Here at Levinson Axelrod, we have been fighting for injured workers across New Jersey for 85 years. This guide will explain the difference between workers' compensation and a personal injury lawsuit. If you have questions, call us. A talk with our New Jersey construction accident attorneys is always free.

What Is a New Jersey Workers' Compensation Claim?

Think of workers' compensation as a safety net for people who get hurt on the job. In New Jersey, almost every employer is required by law to have workers' compensation insurance for their employees. This is a huge protection for you and your family.

It's a "No-Fault" System

The most important thing to know about workers' comp is that it is a "no-fault" system. This means it doesn't matter who caused the accident. Your co-worker may have misused a tool, or a piece of equipment could have malfunctioned. As long as you were hurt while doing your job, you should be able to get benefits. You don't have to prove your boss was careless. According to the New Jersey Workers' Compensation Act, the injury just needs to happen "in the course of employment."

What Does New Jersey Workers' Comp Cover for a Construction Injury?

Workers' compensation is designed to cover your immediate needs after a work injury. The main benefits include:

• Medical Treatment: It pays for all of your necessary doctor visits, hospital stays, surgeries, physical therapy, and prescription medications.
• Temporary Disability Pay: If your injury prevents you from working, it pays a portion of your lost wages (usually about 70%) while you recover.
• Permanent Disability Pay: If your injury leaves you with a permanent disability, you can receive additional money to help with the long-term effects of your injury.
• Death Benefits: If a worker is tragically killed on the job, their family can receive benefits to help them financially.

Can I Sue My Employer After a Work Injury in New Jersey?

Here is the trade-off. In exchange for these no-fault benefits, you usually give up your right to sue your employer for the injury. This is called the "exclusive remedy" rule, and it's a big part of New Jersey's workers' compensation law. This rule means you generally can't sue your boss for being careless, even if their mistake led to your accident. This protects employers from constant lawsuits.

As you can see, workers' compensation provides a fast way to get help, but it also has limits.

What Is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

A personal injury lawsuit is very different from a workers' comp claim. It's a case you file in court to hold someone legally responsible for causing your injuries because they were careless or reckless.

A New Jersey Personal Injury Lawsuit Is All About Proving Fault

Unlike workers' comp, a personal injury lawsuit is not a no-fault system. To win, you and your attorney must prove that another person or company was at fault. You have to show that they had a duty to keep you safe, they failed in that duty, and their failure directly caused your injuries. Construction sites are dangerous places. The construction industry has one of the highest rates of worker deaths in the country. Many of these accidents happen because someone was careless.

What Compensation Can You Recover in an NJ Personal Injury Lawsuit?

This is the biggest difference between the two types of claims. A personal injury lawsuit allows you to ask for money to cover all of your losses, not just the basics. This can include:

• All Medical Bills: Past, present, and future.
• All Lost Wages: The full amount of income you lost and will lose in the future.
• Pain and Suffering: Money to compensate you for the physical pain and emotional distress the accident has caused you. This is something workers' comp does not cover.
• Punitive Damages: In rare cases where the person who hurt you was extremely reckless, you can ask for extra money intended to punish them.

Because you can ask for damages for pain and suffering, the amount of money you can get from a personal injury lawsuit is often much higher than from a workers' comp claim.

Can a Construction Worker File Both? The Third-Party Lawsuit

So, if you can't sue your boss, how can a construction worker ever file a personal injury lawsuit? The answer is a third-party lawsuit.

Even though you can't sue your employer, you can absolutely sue someone else who caused your injury. On a busy construction site, there are many different companies and people working side-by-side. These "third parties" can include:

• The general contractor was in charge of overall site safety.
• A different subcontractor whose workers created a hazard.
• The manufacturer of a defective ladder, scaffold, or power tool.
• The architect or engineer who designed something unsafe.
• The owner of the property where you were working.

This is a very common situation in construction accidents. For example, if you work for a roofing company and you are injured because an electrician from another company left live wires exposed, you have a workers' comp claim against your boss and a personal injury lawsuit against the electrical company.

Figuring out if there is a responsible third party is one of the most important things a New Jersey construction accident lawyer does. At Levinson Axelrod, our 20+ trial attorneys have been investigating these cases for 85 years. We know how to find all the parties who are at fault to make sure you get the most money possible for your recovery.

The "Intentional Wrong" Exception: Suing Your Employer in New Jersey

There is one very rare exception to the rule that you can't sue your employer. It's called an "intentional wrong." This is for situations that go way beyond simple carelessness. To sue your boss, you have to prove that they knew their actions were almost certain to cause serious injury or death. This is a very high bar to meet, but it can happen in cases of extreme and deliberate disregard for worker safety. An experienced attorney can tell you if this might apply to your case.

Workers' Comp vs. Personal Injury Lawsuit: Why You Need a NJ Construction Accident Lawyer

As you can see, the path forward is not always clear. You could have a workers' comp claim, a third-party lawsuit, or both. Making the wrong choice could mean you get far less money than you need to rebuild your life. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes how complicated construction sites are, with many employers and hazards present at once. This is why having an experienced lawyer is so important.

Here's how a Levinson Axelrod construction accident attorney can help:

• We Investigate Your Accident: We will dig deep to find out exactly what happened and who was at fault. We find all possible sources of recovery for you.
• We Handle All the Paperwork and Deadlines: Both workers' comp and personal injury claims have strict deadlines. We make sure everything is filed correctly and on time.
• We Fight the Insurance Companies: Whether it's a workers' comp insurer or a liability insurance company, their goal is to pay as little as they can. We know their tricks. Our reputation as a law firm that is ready for trial makes them treat our clients fairly.
• We Maximize Your Recovery: Our goal is to make sure you get every penny you deserve. We will fight for your medical care in your workers' comp case while also pursuing full damages in your personal injury lawsuit.

Contact Our New Jersey Construction Accident Lawyers

If you have been hurt in a construction accident in New Jersey, don't try to figure this out on your own. Let us help. A consultation with our attorneys is always free, and we do not get paid unless there is a recovery.

Call Levinson Axelrod today or contact us online. We have 10 offices across New Jersey and are ready to fight for you.