A lot of injured workers hear “workers’ comp” and assume that is the whole story. Sometimes it is. But sometimes a work injury involves two separate legal tracks at the same time: a workers’ compensation claim and a claim against a different person or company whose conduct contributed to the injury.
That second track is often called a third-party claim. It can come up after a car crash during work, a fall on someone else’s property, an injury involving defective equipment, or a jobsite accident involving another contractor. If you want a broader overview first, this guide on when a work injury can also lead to a separate lawsuit helps frame the big picture.
In this post, you’ll learn the 8 questions workers ask most often when someone other than the employer may be legally responsible for a workplace injury, and how these cases often interact with workers’ compensation, settlements, and attorney selection.
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Usually, yes.
In many states, workers’ compensation benefits are available regardless of fault, which means the claim is generally tied to whether the injury happened in the course of employment, not to who caused it. Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries explains this directly: an injured worker may receive workers’ compensation benefits even when a third party caused the injury, and reimbursement issues are addressed later if there is a recovery from that third party. Washington L&I’s worker guidance lays that out in plain language.
That distinction matters because workers’ compensation and a third-party case often serve different purposes. Workers’ comp may cover medical treatment and wage-related benefits under state law, while a third-party injury case may involve a separate damages analysis based on negligence or product liability principles. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Longshore procedure manual similarly notes that when an occupational injury is caused by a third party, the employee does not have to choose between compensation benefits and a civil suit against that outside party. DOL procedure guidance.
For many workers, the first practical question is not “Which one do I file?” but “Could both exist at the same time?” In general terms, the answer is often yes.
A third party is usually someone other than your employer or co-worker who may have contributed to the injury.
Washington L&I gives a helpful list of examples: another driver in a motor vehicle crash, a property owner who failed to maintain the premises, a general contractor when the worker is employed by a subcontractor, or the manufacturer of a defective device. Washington L&I example list.
Common real-world examples include: