As with many accidents in life, workplace injuries are often the result of mistakes or omissions on both the employee’s and employer’s part. Sometimes, the employee is almost entirely to blame. If you feel as if you are primarily at fault for your workplace accident in Pennsylvania, you may wonder if you can still recover workers’ compensation benefits. According to FindLaw, the answer is most likely yes.
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. What this means for you is that you can rest assured that should you sustain an injury on the job, you will receive compensation regardless of the cause of the accident. In exchange for this peace of mind, you forfeit your ability to sue your employer for damages. This system differs from the personal injury system in that negligence is usually not a barrier to financial recovery.
That said, specific misconduct may disqualify you from workers’ compensation benefits. For instance, if you and a coworker engaged in a fight or horseplay while at work, and if said behavior led to the accident that caused your injuries, the insurer may deny your claim. Likewise, if you were impaired by drugs or alcohol when the accident occurred, you may be ineligible for benefits. The purpose of workers’ compensation is to compensate individuals for “work-related injuries”; insurers are likely to deny claims for any injuries that a person sustains as a result of misconduct. This is especially true if the conduct is far removed from your scope of work.
The contents of this article are not meant to serve as legal advice. This article is for your educational purposes only.
