Workers in Illinois or Indiana should be notified by their bosses that state laws require the employer to buy special insurance policies to protect employees injured at work. This is “workers’ compensation coverage.” It helps the injured work accident victim with specific financial assistance as defined by state law (disability payments, etc.).
Injury claims are filed and processed according to statutory requirements. The procedures are different in Indiana and Illinois. Of particular importance, the employee does not have to prove the cause of the accident or the legal element of fault when filing for workers’ compensation in either state.
For more details, read our discussions in The Two Main Differences Between Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims for Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois and Workers Compensation in Indiana and Illinois: Work-Related Injuries and the Fight Against Corporate Greed.
The Parameters of Workers’ Compensation Coverage After an Accident
However, not every bodily injury sustained by a worker will be covered by the employer’s worker’s compensation insurance. Sometimes, the accident is an exclusively private cause of action. Workers’ compensation coverage only applies to those who are injured while “on the clock” in some way. See, e.g., Illinois Workers Hurt in a Car Crash While Driving for Work: Legal Rights under Illinois Law and Indiana Workers Injured in a Motor Vehicle Accident While Driving On the Job.
When an employee who is hurt outside of the scope of employment, i.e., while on personal time, etc., then the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance policy will not cover the accident claim. Here, the injured victim may still have legal remedies available to them under state or federal law. These matters will move forward as standard accident claims in our civil courts.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are times when workers’ compensation coverage does provide relief to the accident victim but that is not the only legal remedy available to the worker hurt on the worksite. Here, state or federal law allows for legal claims to proceed against third parties to hold them accountable for their legal liability in the accident and its tragic consequences.
These are called “third party claims.” They are civil lawsuits that proceed independently of the processing and payment of the workers’ compensation benefits covering the work accident.
What is a Third-Party Claim in an On-the-Job Accident?
At any workplace in our part of the country, serious or deadly accidents can happen. They are particularly likely in high-risk industries, such as construction or commercial trucking. See, What Is The Most Dangerous Job in Indiana and Illinois?
Most workers hurt on the job with third party claims outside of their workers’ compensation benefits will have legal claims for relief based upon things like:
1. Defective Products
Here, the worker is hurt or killed by a flaw or failure in a product used at work. This might be a welding iron; a nail gun; a scaffold; a crane; a tire; or any component in machinery on the job site. When someone is hurt because of a defect in a tool, machine, or piece of equipment then a “product liability” action may be available to seek damages from the designer, manufacturer, supplier, and others who have legal responsibility for the defective product.
2. Negligence
The negligence of a third party may be the basis of a civil action brought by an employee outside of workers’ compensation where someone causes the accident that hurts the worker who is not connected with the employer in any way. For instance, if a sales representative driving their company car while on company business is injured in a collision where a driver runs a red light and hits the employee in the company car, the sales representative can sue the person who ran the light for negligence damages outside of filing for their workers’ compensation claim.
Premises Liability Third Party Claims
Another scenario where a worker can file for workers’ compensation while additionally filing a claim for civil injury damages involves legal liability for those who own, possess, or control at least some part of the property or location who is not the employer. As an owner, lessor, landlord, property manager, etc., there will be legal duties under state and federal law to keep that property and its improvements in an acceptable and safe condition.
If the work accident was caused, at least in part, by the failure of those who own or maintain the property, then the injured victim may have a claim to advance based upon “premises liability” law.
What is Premises Liability?
Under both Indiana and Illinois law, an unsafe or dangerous condition on the property that causes an accident and resulting bodily injury can form the basis of a premises liability cause of action. This might be any number of things, such as:
- Wet floors with standing water or snow
- Inadequate lighting in parking garages
- Improperly maintained elevators or shafts
- Loose railings on stairs or walkways
- Open manholes
- Live electrical wires
- Faded or missing warning signs or stripes on site driving paths
- Improper housekeeping or maintenance allowing for falling debris, etc.
If the owner, lessor, or property manager failed in a legal duty to keep the property in a safe condition, or to warn visitors (e.g., contractors, suppliers, visitors, tradesmen, etc.) about open and obvious conditions that are dangerous, then there may be legal liability for any accident damages resulting from this breach of duty.
Indiana premises liability lawsuits will follow established case precedent. In Illinois, these claims will proceed under the Illinois Premises Liability Act (740 ILCS 130).
Personal Injury Award and Workers’ Compensation Benefits: Reimbursement
For workers who successfully proceed in a third-party action based upon an accident on the job, their awards may be substantially and significantly higher than the total award provided by the state workers’ compensation benefits.
Workers should know that once they have obtained their third-party awards from those held liable in court or through a negotiated settlement, they still have another step to take. Under both Indiana and Illinois law, they will be responsible for paying back the money paid out by the workers’ compensation coverage for any bills and expenses that have been covered in the personal injury award.
Justice for Workers Hurt in Job Accidents Caused by Third Parties in Indiana and Illinois
For accident victims who suffer catastrophic or deadly injuries in an accident on the job, these workers and their loved ones may have several avenues for justice available to them in the aftermath of the tragedy. First of all, they will have the opportunity to seek compensation through their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance policy coverage. This will provide for specific types of damages, such as medical care, a percentage of lost wages, and more, all according to the statutory guidelines.
However, for many workers hurt on the job in Indiana and Illinois, there may be third party civil claims to pursue under state or federal law. In many instances, this may involve breaches in the duty of care for the property site itself with liability falling on the site’s owner, manager, landlord, and others who had ownership, possession, custody, or control of the site itself.
These will be cases based upon state premises liability law. Damages here may include pain and suffering, future lost earning capacity, and more, as defined by the premises liability laws of Indiana or Illinois.
For more, read:
- Pain Awareness: Claims to Cover an Accident Victim’s Pain Damages
- How Great is the Danger of Workers Dying in Fatal Work Accidents in 2022?
- Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
- Catastrophic Injury Accidents: Special Legal Protections for Victims and Families in Indiana and Illinois.
Workers who suffer injuries on the job are all too often the victims of preventable accidents where someone failed in a known, legal duty of care. Third party legal claims may provide justice to these victims in addition to the state workers’ compensation laws. Please be careful out there!
