Do you think you are to blame for the workplace accident that caused your injuries? If so, you might be concerned about your ability to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. However, regardless if you were partially or completely to blame for the incident, you would still be eligible for these crucial benefits. Workers’ compensation is not a fault-based system, which means regardless if you or your employer’s negligence was to blame for the accident that caused your injuries, you would still be eligible for benefits. Additionally, it also means you would not be able to file a lawsuit against your employer unless he or she intentionally caused you harm.
Most rules have exceptions, however, so continue reading to find out under which circumstances you might not be able to recover compensation:
- If your accident was caused by horseplay, this does not fall within the scope of your occupation and, therefore, you might not be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
- If you were using recreational drugs or drinking while on the job, which led to the accident that caused your injuries, your employer’s insurance company would not have to compensate you for them. For you to be denied these benefits, however, it would have to be proven that drug or alcohol consumption was the primary cause of the injury.
- If you purposely inflicted your own injuries, you would not be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. In fact, it would also be considered insurance fraud.
- If you acted against your company’s policies and these actions resulted in the accident that caused your injuries, you might not be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
In all other cases, you should be able to obtain workers’ compensation benefits if you were injured at your place of work or developed a condition that was caused by your job duties.
Call Us to Discuss the Details of Your Workers’ Compensation Case
If you are afraid of not being able to obtain workers’ compensation benefits because your workplace accident was your fault, you should contact an experienced attorney to review your case. Even if you were at fault for your accident, you are likely still eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, so do not put off seeking the legal guidance you need.
Call Smolich and Smolich today at (916) 571-0400 to schedule a complimentary case review. You will not owe us legal fees unless we win your case.