The law offers you various options when you suffer an injury while on the job. Most often, such as injury will result in a workers’ compensation claim. However, there may be times when you need to file a claim against someone other than your employer.
A third-party claim, according to the Texas Department of Insurance, occurs when there is someone or some entity responsible for your injury other than your employer. For example, if a defective piece of equipment causes your injury, then the manufacturer of the equipment may hold some liability, and you could issue a third-party claim against that company.
The law
If workers’ compensation pays you some benefits for your injury and you also seek a third-party claim, then the law says that workers’ compensation providers may reduce any benefits you receive as a result from what it pays you. You may also have to reimburse the provider for benefits it has already paid to you for the incident.
The bottom line
Because of the way the law works, you likely will not end up with a lot of extra money due to a third-party claim. The idea is to simply hold the right party responsible. If your employer is not fully responsible, then the law recognizes that it should not have to pay, which seems fair. However, it does mean that you may end up paying back benefits you get since workers’ compensation cannot deny you benefits you rightfully qualify for. The provider will have to wait until your third-party case is over to collect on benefits it paid that were not its responsibility.
