Do You Need to Prove Fault to Receive Workers’ Compensation?

In a typical injury case, whoever is at fault for the accident is required to pay damages to the injury victim. In order to receive the compensation they deserve, an injured person must prove that another party was at fault.

However, workers’ compensation cases are different — injured employees do not have to prove that their employer was at fault to receive damages for their medical bills and other expenses. They just need to prove that an injury or illness occurred on the job or as a result of that job.

In fact, it is entirely possible that an employer is not entirely at fault for an accident that injures one of their workers. It is common for other parties to be found at least partially liable in workers’ compensation cases: Other employees, safety inspectors, and equipment manufacturers could potentially be responsible as well, depending on the circumstances of the injury.

What if the Employee Was at Fault?

Although proving the fault of any employer is not necessary for receiving workers’ compensation benefits, and an employer can even be found not at fault for an on-the-job injury, evidence that establishes the fault of the injured employee can disrupt a workers’ compensation claim.

Usually, an employer will need to prove serious misconduct on the behalf of an injured employee to justify denying their workers’ compensation claim based on this reason. An instance of employee fault often is more significant than a simple mistake by the worker — reasons for denial include instances of employee intoxication, injuries sustained while performing a criminal act, harm that was the result of a fight, and other instances of gross employee misconduct.

Establishing proof of employer negligence is not necessary to recover workers’ compensation benefits, but that doesn’t mean compensation is a sure thing. An employer can deny or undervalue your claim for a number of different reasons. If you were injured at work and did not receive adequate compensation, contact McHargue & Jones, LLC.