Personal injury victims injured at work by the fault of a third party face a unique situation. They can file a claim for workers compensation and also file a claim against the person who caused their injury .
For example if you drive for United Parcel and while in the course of making a delivery a person rear ends you then you could file a claim for workers compensation benefits and also make a claim against the insurance company of the driver who caused the accident.
Another common example is a construction worker injured by the fault of another not related to his emplyer. A recent example of a case I succesfully resolved was a road crew worker that was struck by a negligent auto driver
The workers compensation board in Ohio is entitled to get the money they paid out on you claim, back from any recovery you make against the insurance company. But there still is a big advantage to proceed with both claims.
Workers compensation does not pay for pain and suffering damages nor do they pay for your loss of enjoyment of life. Also they may not compensate you for all of your lost wages. Therefore you can maximize your recovery by filing both claims. Even though you have to pay workers compensation back, there is a formula that is used that may allow you to pay them back less than what they paid you.
Additionally you can get a portion of your lost wages now from workers compensation instead of having to wait until your personal injury case is settled.
This double type of case can be difficult , especially if you
have one lawyer handling your workers compensation case and one lawyer handling your personal injury case. The right hand may not know what the left hand is doing. Plus negative evidence could be created in your case by the workers compensation doctors that your personal injury attorney does not know about.
The best way a client can protect themselves is hire one lawyer who can handle both cases. This means that you should hire an attorney that does significant workers compensation cases and also is an experienced personal injury attorney. This way all the information is managed and known to one attorney who can work to maxiamize the benefits in both cases.
In Ohio a lawyer can be certified as a specialist in workers compensation law and also have significant experience in personal injuy cases. So if you have this type of double claim my suggestion is hire an attorney that can handle both cases.
Anthony Castelli is a Cincinnati personal injury attorney who is also a certified specialist by the OSBA in Ohio workers compensation. He offers free consultations. You can get more information about him and your injury case at www.castellilaw.com
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