Suing someone other than your employer for a work injury
If you are injured at work, the general rule is that you cannot file a lawsuit against your employer. Under the workers’ compensation system, employers are protected from lawsuits. In exchange, workers receive compensation by filing a claim, which is more efficient than a lawsuit, and fault is not an issue.
In some situations, however, a lawsuit may be appropriate. It wouldn’t be a case against your employer, but rather against a third party. Common examples are when a worker is out on a job on someone else’s property and gets hurt because of some dangerous condition; another example is when the job includes working with machinery and an injury occurs because the machine is defective and malfunctions. In these cases, a worker might have a personal injury lawsuit against the property owner or machine manufacturer.
Third party lawsuits are similar to other injury lawsuits, where you have to prove that the other party’s negligence caused your injury and that you were harmed as a result. This is different from the filing a claim for benefits under workers’ compensation, where fault does not matter. If your employer did something that caused your injury – like not keeping the workplace clean – you would file a claim for workers’ compensation. On the flip side, if you got injured at work because you weren’t paying attention, you could still file a claim for workers’ compensation. In third-party lawsuits, fault matters.
We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys. Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.
