Third Party Negligence

By accepting Florida workers’ compensation benefits for a workplace accident, injury or illness, an injured employee agrees not to sue their employer for any negligence that may have caused them harm. But, it does not bar an injured employee from pursuing a third-party negligence claim against other persons or entities that may have contributed to their injury or illness.

A third-party negligence, or liability, claim is a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit that can recover money in addition to workers’ compensation benefits. This includes additional damages for pain and suffering, disfigurement, and lost wages. It should be noted that if the third negligence resulted in a wrongful death, the Florida probate court and a Florida probate lawyer may be required.

If your workplace injury was caused by the negligence of a third party, the Orlando work injury lawyer at Frank M. Eidson, P.A., can obtain additional money for you and your family. Frank M. Eidson has been a Florida workplace injury attorney in a single-lawyer practice for more than 24 years, and has recovered millions of dollars in third-party negligence settlements and verdicts for clients.

If you’ve been injured or lost a family member in an on-the-job accident in Central Florida, contact the law office of Frank M. Eidson, P.A., today. Frank Eidson will meet with you to discuss your case and the legal options open to you to ensure you obtain all of the compensation you deserve.

Additional Liability for Your Injury

In addition to the compensation a workplace injury victim may be entitled to under Florida workers’ compensation laws, an injured worker may also pursue a legal claim against a negligent third party responsible for their injury.

Such a third-party liability claim is proper to hold a responsible party (or parties) accountable for the harm they have done. A third-party negligence claim should also be considered because workers’ compensation benefits are limited and may not provide all of the money necessary for recovery from a severe injury or to deal with a lifelong disability or job-related death.

A third-party negligence claim can seek money for:

• Medical expenses
• Property damage, such as in a car accident
• Lost income
• Pain and suffering
• Disfigurement
• Wrongful death
• Punitive damages (for egregious conduct that contributed to the plaintiff’s harm).

The injured worker may be eligible to collect damages if he/she can prove that the third party in any way caused the accident that hurt them or the working conditions that caused them to become ill.

Workplace accidents that should be investigated to determine whether third-party liability applies include:

• Machinery or equipment malfunction. The manufacturer or distributor of faulty or defective equipment may be held liable for injuries their product has caused.
• Floor, wall or scaffolding collapse. Engineers, architects or supervisors involved with design or construction of a structurethat fails may be found accountable for faulty design or supervision of the structure’s erection.
• Motor vehicle accident. Car and truck accidents, and incidents involving workplace vehicles like forklifts, pallet movers, scissor lifts, etc., are among the most common causes of job-related injury and death. If a worker’s job required travel in a car and they were hurt in a wreck, they may be able to hold the at-fault driver (including a co-worker) liable in a third-party claim.
• Property hazards. The owner of a worksite, whether it is an office, a construction site or a delivery destination, has a legal duty to make sure it is reasonably safe for visitors. Failure to meet this duty that results in a worker’s injury may be cause for a liability claim.
• Subcontractor activity. Since a subcontractor on a worksite is not your employer, they may be sued for any negligence or recklessness on their part that contributed to your occupational injury or illness.

Determining what party or parties may be held accountable for a workplace accident and injury requires a broad understanding of how construction sites, offices, and other workplaces are organized and the people or entities likely to be involved in them. It takes an understanding of federal and state Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and other workplace regulations, and how they apply to various work situations.

In addition to understanding what may have happened, developing a successful third-party negligence lawsuit on behalf of an injured worker requires the experience to investigate and determine what actually did happen.

Frank M. Eidson, our Orlando-area workers injury attorney has been helping workplace accident and catastrophic personal injury victims stand up to employers and insurance companies for more than 20 years. He has investigated hundreds of accidents at construction sites and other worksites to develop successful third-party negligence claims as well as workers’ compensation benefit claims on behalf of clients.

Contact an Experienced Work Injury Negligence Lawyer

Modern workplaces are complex, and there usually are many facets to jobsite accidents that injure or kill workers. Those who have been injured or lost a loved one to an occupational injury or illness deserve all of the compensation for their losses that is available. This is only possible with a thorough investigation to uncover any existing third-party negligence in a workplace accident.

Work injury attorney Frank M. Eidson, is here to help you obtain the compensation you deserve for the losses you’ve suffered in a Central Florida workplace accident or occupational illness. Mr. Eidson has more than 24 years of successful experience investigating jobsite accidents and assisting work injury victims obtain settlements and court verdicts for the money they need and deserve. Because he is the only lawyer in his practice, clients of Frank M. Eidson, P.A., get to know and trust their work injury attorney.

If you have suffered an accident on the job or become ill because of workplace conditions at a Florida job site, contact Frank M. Eidson, P.A., to put an experienced third-party negligence claims lawyer to work for you. Experience counts when working to uncover hidden responsibility for workplace accidents and occupational illness and disease, and with Frank M. Eidson on your side, you have it. Call our firm now at 888-245-2855.