By Billie-Marie Morrison, Esq.
Workers’ Compensation is a very unique area of law. It is considered Administrative Law because the process is created and controlled by the State of Nevada. Nevada is a no-fault system, which means even if the injury is a result of something you did (for example, you are driving for your job and you create a car/truck accident) your injuries are covered under workers’ compensation and you may receive a financial recovery at the end of treatment if your claim is handled properly.
Often times there is a 2nd part of a workers’ compensation claim. This is known as a 3rd party claim and happens in more situations than people realize. It can be from a vehicle accident when you are not at fault, you are bitten by a dog while on the job, a slip and fall on the premises of a business that is different than the one you work for, you use the restroom in an office building where you work, and the restroom is not inside your office or if it is and it is not maintained and cleaned by co-employees, this could be covered. Many product defect cases are also linked to workers’ compensation claims. These include injuries caused by machines that are not properly maintained by an outside company, a washer or dryer that has a design defect and does not turn off when they are supposed to or turn on when they are supposed to. More examples of defective workplace products are cranes, forklifts, elevators, scaffolding, air conditioning units, faulty electronic aspects of equipment, boom trucks, and machines that have safety off switches that cannot be reached in the case of emergency. The list goes on and on.
When you have a workers’ compensation claim, in 99.9% of the situations you cannot sue your employer, but there may be other entities to sue. To know this, you should always hire a workers’ compensation attorney whose practice is primarily workers’ compensation and is a certified specialist. I am fortunate because I am certified by the State Bar of Nevada as a Specialist in the area of Workers’ Compensation, and also practice personal injury and products liability.
If you have a workers’ compensation injury, it is always best to hire a workers’ compensation attorney immediately. You may lose benefits, and end up with medical providers that are not correct for your particular injuries, which will ultimately mean that you will receive less money in the end. It would also mean that the 3rd party claim is also overlooked. Don’t let this happen to you. On the flip side, the disadvantage to you if you hire a personal injury attorney who does not practice Workers’ Compensation can cause you to lose accepted body parts, allow the workers’ compensation carrier to assign the incorrect average monthly wage to your claim, lose your opportunity to have life-time re-opening rights, and most importantly, you may be encouraged to not pursue the workers‘ compensation claim for wrong reasons; such as the medical treatment in a workers’ compensation claim is not as good as in the personal injury claim. This is absolutely false. Some of the very best doctors in Nevada take workers’ compensation claims. My heart surgeon accepts workers’ compensation and I love him will all my heart…(pun intended)… So don’t be fooled by this. Also, having practiced in the area of products defect, many attorneys do not recognize the potential product liability case. You can be driving your car or a work vehicle, cause a car accident, get injured by the airbag (or the airbag does not engage at all) and you will have a workers’ compensation claim as well as a product injury claim. If you did not cause the accident, you can have a 3rd claim against the person who cause the car accident.
All of this being said, if you are injured on the job, please seek the legal counsel of a workers’ compensation attorney who is certified by the State Bar of Nevada as a Specialist in the area of Workers’ Compensation, such as myself.
