Workers’ compensation and a third-party claim can arise from the same construction accident, but they serve different purposes. Workers’ comp generally covers qualifying work-related injuries without requiring you to prove that your employer was negligent. A third-party construction accident claim instead seeks damages from another person or business whose negligence or wrongful conduct contributed to your injury.
A small personal injury firm based in Boulder, CO, Jeffress Law, PC, also serves Fort Collins, Longmont, Loveland, and surrounding communities. Christopher W. Jeffress began his legal career representing insurance companies and large corporations before moving to the injured person’s side of these disputes. Antwan D. Hampton, Jr. also has insurance-defense experience and later tried cases as a Colorado prosecutor. Their backgrounds are especially relevant when several contractors, companies, and insurers are involved in one jobsite accident.
How Does Workers’ Compensation Differ From a Lawsuit?
Colorado workers’ compensation can cover authorized medical care, wage-replacement benefits, and certain disability benefits after a covered work injury. Because workers’ comp is generally the exclusive remedy against a compliant employer for a job-related injury, you usually can’t bring an ordinary negligence lawsuit against that employer for the same accident.
A third-party claim is different. It involves someone outside the protected employment relationship whose conduct contributed to the injury. A successful third-party claim may include losses that workers’ compensation doesn’t fully cover, such as additional lost income and pain and suffering.
Who Could Be a Third Party on a Construction Site?
Construction sites can involve property owners, general contractors, subcontractors, equipment companies, delivery drivers, and vendors working in the same area. Depending on Colorado’s workers’ compensation immunity rules and the relationships among the businesses involved, a potential third party may include:
- A negligent driver working on or entering the site
- A manufacturer responsible for defective equipment
- A separate contractor whose unsafe conduct causes an injury
- A property owner or another business legally responsible for the hazard
Not every company other than your direct employer can be sued. Colorado’s statutory-employer rules can extend workers’ compensation immunity to certain businesses, so contracts and working relationships are important parts of the investigation.
Can You Have Both Claims?
Yes. Colorado law can allow an injured worker to receive workers’ compensation benefits while also pursuing certain third parties for additional damages. The workers’ compensation carrier can have reimbursement or subrogation rights against portions of a third-party recovery, so the two claims may affect one another.
Review Your Options After a Construction Accident
A jobsite accident can involve several responsible parties and multiple insurance policies. Jeffress Law, PC, represents injured people in Boulder, Fort Collins, Longmont, Loveland, and surrounding areas. To discuss the circumstances of your construction injury with Christopher W. Jeffress and Antwan D. Hampton, Jr., contact us or call 303-993-8685.
