If you are injured on someone’s property or due to someone’s negligence in Missouri, you generally have the right to bring a personal injury claim against them in court. This may make you wonder about an injury at work. If it is due to your employer’s negligence, can you file a personal injury claim?
The answer to this is rather simple if you are making a workers’ compensation claim, which in almost all cases is what you will do. According to BizFilings, once you file a workers’ compensation claim, you give up your right to file a personal injury claim. This is how workers’ compensation is designed and why it was enacted in the first place.
The whole reason for this insurance is to protect your employer from lawsuits. You get your injuries and related expenses covered through the insurance. As soon as you make a claim, you forfeit your rights to otherwise sue. It is built right into the system, and unless you give up your rights to workers’ compensation benefits, you have no option but to give that right up.
It is pretty much in your best interest to go with the workers’ compensation claim because in a personal injury case, you may not get the maximum benefits. You could even lose money. So in this way, the workers’ compensation system is designed to also protect you, along with helping to keep such claims from bogging down the court system. The information provided here is for informational purposes only and not intended as legal advice.