Workers’ Compensation is designed to cover all kinds of work-related injuries, even if they are caused by outside parties. However, you may also be able to sue outside parties for work injuries.
When an accident or injury happens in the course of your work, it is usually covered under Workers’ Compensation. This is true even when a customer causes your injuries, by accident or on purpose. You may also be able to sue the customer or another outside party, but any share of damages assigned to your employer’s fault cannot be recovered in a lawsuit.
For help with your case, call Cardamone Law’s Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at (267) 651-7945.
Does Workers’ Compensation Cover Injuries Caused by Customers?
Workers’ Compensation’s requirements for coverage generally apply to injuries caused by customers, but there are some important factors to consider:
Requirements for Coverage
Your injuries are only covered under Workers’ Compensation if these elements are met:
- You were an employee (i.e., not an independent contractor), based on the facts of your employment, not whether you get a W-2 or 1099.
- Your injuries happened within the scope of your employment or because of dangerous conditions at work.
- Your injury is disabling.
Workers’ Comp can cover medical care, even without the third element being met, but wage-loss benefits only pay when you miss at least 7 days of work because of disability.
Fault Not an Issue
In this system, fault is not a requirement. This means that you get coverage if your employer caused your injuries, or even if you caused your own injuries.
This means that whether a customer actually caused the accident or not, Workers’ Comp still covers it.
Accidental and Intentional Acts Covered
Workers’ Compensation may not cover when your employer intentionally injures you, and it does not cover if you intentionally injured yourself. Otherwise, intent is not a factor.
Workers’ Comp covers injuries from customers, both when they injure you by accident and when they intentionally assault you.
Who Pays?
Your employer always pays for Workers’ Comp. They must have Workers’ Compensation insurance or self-coverage to pay for injuries, regardless of who caused them.
Can You Sue for Injuries by Customers
Our Philadelphia Workers’ Comp lawyers can help you file for Workers’ Comp benefits for injuries from a customer, but you may have the right to sue them as well.
Lawsuits Permitted Alongside Workers’ Comp
If you are claiming Workers’ Comp, your employer pays that regardless of fault. However, you can also file a lawsuit against any outside third party (i.e., not against your employer) if they were responsible for the accident.
This allows you to get paid additional damages (e.g., pain and suffering) and your employer to get paid back for the damages they already paid. This shifts the burden of paying to the party that was actually at fault.
Who Pays?
In these claims, you can often recover against the at-fault customer directly in a lawsuit. However, an individual customer might not be able to afford much by way of damages.
However, if the “customer” was another company or you were injured by someone who was working for their employer when they caused your injuries, you may be able to sue that company for your injuries. E.g., a consultant hurt on-site at a customer’s plant can likely sue the plant.
No Damages from Your Employer
While you can file for Workers’ Comp, you cannot get any damages from your own employer in a lawsuit for a work-related injury. This means that if they were partially at fault for the accident, then their share of damages is cut out of your winnings; you can only recover against outside third parties.
For example, a customer might have tipped over an unstable shelf and injured you. The employer was responsible for the unstable shelf and may share, for example, 50/50 fault with the customer. This means you can only recover the customer’s 50% share of the damages in the lawsuit.
FAQs for Workers’ Comp for Injuries from Customers in Pennsylvania
Does Workers’ Comp Cover Assault by Customers?
Generally, yes. Assault by customers, patients, clients, etc. should be covered if it happened within the scope of your work.
Does Workers’ Comp Cover Assault by Customers After Work?
If a disgruntled customer waited until you left work to assault you, it might not be covered under Workers’ Comp. For example, if they jumped you in the parking lot after your shift, you were not working, and it might not be considered “work-related.”
However, your employer might still be liable for negligent security or dangerous premises. Or, if you were still working, such as taking garbage to the dumpster on your way to your car, they should still cover that as a work-related injury.
Is There a Distinction Between “Clients” and “Customers”?
If you work as an “employee” at your job, then it doesn’t make a difference if you call the person who injured you a “customer,” a “client,” or some other name. This would, however, make a difference if you are an independent contractor.
If you are a contractor with “clients” instead of customers, then you might not have an “employer.” If your “employer” was actually a “client,” then you might not be covered under their Workers’ Comp, if classifying you as an independent contractor was proper.
Can You File for Workers’ Comp if the Customer Who Injured You Didn’t Pay?
If they didn’t actually spend any money at your work, then is that “customer” truly a “customer”? For Workers’ Comp purposes, the distinction between paying and non-paying customers doesn’t matter.
They could have been a passerby, a window-shopper, a paying customer, or a regular; Workers’ Compensation can cover accidents when virtually anyone you encounter at your job injures you.
Call Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers in Pennsylvania Today
Call (267) 651-7945 for a free case review with the Bucks County, PA Workers’ Compensation lawyers at Cardamone Law.
