Workplace injury settlement calculator, both tracks covered

Workers' comp vs. personal injury lawsuit — when you can do both

Workers' comp is the exclusive remedy against your direct employer in almost every state. You cannot sue your employer for pain and suffering from a workplace injury. But if a third party contributed to the injury — a subcontractor on a shared site, a vehicle owned by a different company, a defective machine, a property owner, a passing driver — that party is fully liable in a separate personal injury claim.

Hector, a construction laborer in Denver, was hit by a contractor's reversing truck on a shared job site. Workers' comp covered $48,000 of medical bills and wage replacement. A separate personal injury claim against the trucking company settled at $235,000. After repaying the workers' comp lien and the 40% attorney fee, Hector netted about $112,000 he wouldn't have seen on the comp track alone.

Workers comp settlement chart by severity

The workers comp settlement chart below shows typical payouts by severity, separated by track. Workers' comp pays medical bills + ~67% of lost income (capped at the state average). A third-party personal injury claim — when applicable — pays full damages including pain and suffering.

Third party workplace injury claim: when it applies

A third party workplace injury claim is the most underused recovery path in workplace injuries. Workers' comp is the exclusive remedy against your direct employer, but if anyone else contributed to the injury, a separate personal injury claim is available — and it pays pain and suffering, full lost wages, and future medical that comp doesn't.

Common third-party scenarios:

• Subcontractor on a shared job site — different employer, full PI exposure
• Vehicle owned by a different company — delivery truck, contractor vehicle
• Defective equipment from a manufacturer — product liability claim
• Property owner — if injury happened on premises owned by a third party (not your employer)
• Negligent driver — for vehicle-related work injuries

If any of these apply, the third-party PI claim runs in parallel with workers' comp. The comp insurer recovers their lien from your PI settlement, but you keep the pain-and-suffering portion outright.

Workplace injury settlement amounts (by track)

Workplace injury settlement amounts vary dramatically by which track applies. The same surgical back injury pays ~$60,000–$200,000 on the comp track and ~$200,000–$1,000,000+ on a third-party PI track. The combined-net delta is where the value lives.

Why the workers' comp lien is negotiable

If you recover from a third party on top of workers' comp, the comp insurer has a subrogation right — they get reimbursed from your third-party settlement for what they paid out. Most attorneys reduce that lien by at least the proportionate share of the attorney fee (33–40%), and aggressive negotiation can reduce it further by arguing comparative fault, future medical exposure, and "made whole" doctrine. The difference between a 0% reduction and a 50% reduction on a $48,000 lien is $24,000 in your pocket.