Recovering Non-Economic Damages After Workplace Accidents

Workplace accidents can cause extensive pain and suffering for the injured person and his or her family. Individuals injured in an accident on the job may be able to file a claim for non-economic damages.

When a workplace injury occurs, the injured person will often file a workers’ compensation claim for medical and lost wage benefits. A workers’ compensation claim, however, does not include compensation for non-economic damages such as physical and emotional pain and suffering.

Non-economic damages include all past and future pain the victim or his or her family will be forced to endure as a result of the victim’s injuries or death. In order to receive compensation for physical and emotional pain and suffering, a claim must be successfully made against a third party, someone who is not an employer or a fellow employee of the injured individual.

A good example of this is when the driver of a vehicle, due to negligence, crashes his or her vehicle into the vehicle of the employee while the employee is on the clock. In a situation such as this, the injured employee is eligible to make a workers’ compensation claim, but he or she can also bring a personal injury claim against the non-employer or employee driver of the at-fault vehicle.

Another way non-economic damages can be recovered is when an employee is injured by malfunctioning equipment that he or she uses while at work. This type of accident would also allow the injured party to make a claim for workers’ compensation. In addition, he or she may be able to make a claim against the equipment manufacturer, distributer, wholesaler and/or retailer. This type of claim would be considered a products liability claim and may be difficult to prove, but the option remains open to the injured employee or his or her family. If a products liability claim is successfully prosecuted the claimant will recover non-economic damages for any physical and emotional pain and suffering.

Work injury accidents can be emotionally and financially devastating for the victim and his or her family members. If you or someone you love has been injured or killed in a workplace injury, it is important that you speak to experienced personal injury lawyer.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

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