Injured workers ask our attorneys often whether they can sue their employer for a work injury. As a general rule, they cannot. When you are hurt at work in Indiana, you cannot sue your employer unless your employer acted with an actual intent to cause injury to you. This is very difficult to prove. This almost requires a level of proof of your boss punching you and causing injury. That would be an intentional injury. Short of that, it is very difficult to prove an intentional injury.
If you cannot prove such an intentional injury, you do not have the right to sue your employer in Indiana. The Indiana Workers’ Compensation Act prevents direct lawsuits from employees against employers and instead allows employees typically instant benefits in the form of medical, treatment, lost wages and impairment.
If your injury or accident did happen due to the fault of a party other than your employer, such as the manufacturer of a machine, the driver of another vehicle, or any other party other than your employer, you can sue that party. We call those parties “third parties” and a lawsuit against one of those parties will allow you damages in excess of what is available under our Indiana Workers’ Compensation laws. If you would like assistance with such a third party case, please contact our office.