If you've suffered an injury, then you may be wondering if you should file worker's compensation or a personal injury claim. While these two scenarios are often confused, they do have a few differences. The biggest difference between the two is that a personal injury case is based on fault unlike a workers' compensation case.

If you want to recover any damages against someone else after a car accident, slips and falls, or any other type of personal harm, then the other party must be negligent. This means that someone else has done something wrong that caused you to suffer injury.

Personal Injury Cases

To better understand the definition of fault, consider the example of a falling case. Just because you fall on another person's property, doesn't necessarily mean that the individual who owns that property was negligent. Accidents with no one being at fault do occur.

If you want to recover damages from an accident on another person's property, then you have to demonstrate that the person was negligent in maintaining their property. In a similar way, you could be in a car accident where no one was personally responsible for the accident. An accident with a driver who was drinking, for example, would be an example of being at fault.

Workers' Comp Cases

With this type of case, fault is not required to be proven. In a workers' compensation claim, employees who are injured while on the job are required to receive compensation with some limited exceptions. Workers compensation is not based on fault though. You don't have to provide that your workplace or co-workers was in the wrong in order to receive these benefits after an injury. Even if you were negligent and the accident happened due to your own fault, you are still entitled to get this benefit.

In general, a workers' compensation claim has limited benefits. With this type of scenario, you will receive weekly payment, permanent impairment benefits, and coverage of any medical bills, and vocational rehab. You cannot receive any benefits for pain and suffering in this case. Additionally, once you accept workers' compensation, you typically lose the right to pursue your employer or coworkers for negligence.

What Do I File?

Knowing that there is a difference between the two types of claims is important, but how do you know which option is right for your situation? In general, this is not an easy decision and you may not understand your claim completely. When this happens, speaking to a personal injury lawyer is a great option. This professional can review your case and give you expert advice on which claim you should be seeking.

Even if this advice doesn't change what you're doing, it will be helpful to know that you've made the right decision. If your claim does end up being a personal injury case, you'll have the added benefit of having a lawyer on your team who will help you navigate the claims process. Use this information when you suffer an injury to get the best possible outcome.