Workers’ Compensation vs. a Personal Injury Claim: What’s the Difference (and Can You Have Both)?
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Another question we hear often is this: what’s the difference between a workers’ compensation case and a regular injury case? The line between them is actually pretty simple — and in some situations, you may have both at the same time. Here’s how to think about it.
What makes a case a workers’ compensation case?
A workers’ compensation case arises out of, and in the course and scope of, your employment. That’s really the whole test.
If you’re injured while doing something in the service of your employer — something within your job description, or even adjacent to it — and you’re “on the clock,” it’s a workers’ compensation case. If your injury happened outside of that, it isn’t. In Nebraska, a workers’ compensation claim proceeds against your employer under the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act and is handled in the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court — a different court, with different laws and rules, than an ordinary injury lawsuit.
What makes a case a regular (third-party) injury case?
If your injury was caused by someone other than your employer or a co-worker, and it didn’t arise out of your job, it’s a standard personal injury claim — usually a negligence case. These cases are filed in district court (state or federal) and proceed under the legal theory that best fits your situation.
Can you have both at once? Yes — and it happens more than people expect.
Here’s where it gets important. Sometimes a single accident creates two separate cases.
Imagine you drive as part of your job — you’re heading to a sales call or making a delivery — and another driver, someone who doesn’t work for your company, slams into you. You don’t have one case. You have two:
- A workers’ compensation case, because you were injured in the course and scope of your employment — you were hurt doing your job, during working hours.
- A third-party injury case against the driver who hit you, filed in district court as a negligence claim.
The first case proceeds in workers’ compensation court under workers’ compensation law. The second proceeds in district court under whatever theory of liability we determine is strongest for you. They run on separate tracks, under separate rules.
Does that mean you collect twice?
Not exactly — and this is the part worth understanding.
When you’re hurt at work and your employer (or its insurer) pays workers’ compensation benefits, but a third party actually caused the injury, Nebraska law gives your employer what’s called a subrogation interest in your third-party recovery. The governing statute is Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-118.
In plain terms, that means your employer has a right to be repaid — out of the money you recover from the third party — for some or all of the benefits it paid you. How much the employer gets back isn’t automatic: it’s subject to the court’s approval and a “fair and equitable” determination. In some cases the amount can be reduced significantly; the specifics depend on the facts of your case.
The practical takeaway: pursuing both cases can put more total recovery in your pocket than either one alone — but the two are connected, and how they interact requires careful handling. That’s exactly the kind of thing an experienced attorney manages for you.
The bottom line
If you were doing what you’re supposed to do, where you’re supposed to be, when you got hurt, you likely have a workers’ compensation case and must proceed against your employer under Nebraska’s workers’ compensation laws. If your injury was caused by someone outside your employment, you likely have a third-party injury case. And sometimes — like the driver scenario above — you have both.
Sorting out which category your situation falls into (and making sure you don’t leave a second case on the table) is one of the first things we do for injured clients.
Hurt at work or by someone else? Let’s figure out your options.
If you’ve been injured and aren’t sure whether you have a workers’ compensation case, a third-party injury claim, or both, the attorneys at High & Younes can help you sort it out. Consultations are free, and we commonly handle these cases on a contingency fee — no upfront cost to you.
Call or text us today at 402-933-3345.
A great way to reach us!
