Workers compensation is an important resource for those who have been harmed on the job, and it is important for employees to understand their rights under the law. For those who do become injured on the job, particularly in a motor vehicle accident, it is important to understand not only how to recover damages for personal injury, but also the process of seeking out workers’ compensation benefits.

Workplace accidents, including on-the-job motor vehicle accidents, can happen for a variety of reasons. In some cases, they are a result of the negligence of the worker, in other cases the negligence of the employer. In yet other cases, such accidents occur because of the negligence of a third party. Although recovery in personal injury cases is dependent on proof of negligence, it is important for workers involved in such accidents to understand that they are covered by workers’ compensation as long as their injuries arose out of and in the course of employment.

The language, “out of and in the course of employment,” according to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, generally means that the injury or injuries were either wholly or partly the result of the employee’s work. As we all know, though, the line between work and non-work activities on the job isn’t always clear, and the exact meaning of this terminology is something that has had to be processed by Illinois courts.

In our next post, we’ll continue speaking about this issue, and what an experienced attorney can do to help make sure an employee involved in a car accident can do to maximize his or her recovery, both through personal injury litigation and workers’ compensation.