Workers' compensation is a statutory system that was first adopted in the 1930s by most states to promptly compensate injured workers by paying their medical bills and providing them with time loss to replace their lost wages. The system is not based upon fault, and therefore the same benefits are paid to an injured workman regardless of whether or not the injuries are self-inflicted through one's own negligence or by a co-worker. The quid pro quo of the no fault benefit is the giving up of the injured worker's right to sue his employer or his employer's agent (or fellow employee) for their negligence.

It is important to note that workers' compensation does not compensate the worker for pain and suffering; however, if the injured worker is left with a permanent disability (either or partial or total), he will receive a payment based upon a statutory schedule for the specific injury. The disability payments are small compared to the compensation that would normally be recoverable if the case involved a negligence claim that entitles the injured person to compensation for pain and suffering as well.

Workers' compensation claims and personal injury claims are not mutually exclusive. If a person is driving a vehicle while in the course and scope of his business, e.g., delivering equipment from one place to another, and they are injured in an automobile accident caused by the negligence of a driver who is not a co-employee of the injured person, then that person can make two claims. He would first be entitled to worker's compensation benefits that would pay all of his medical bills and provide him with time loss for his lost wages; he would also be entitled to sue the negligent motorist for all of his injuries, including pain and suffering.

In this circumstance, the Department of Labor and Industries, who is the agency that administers workers' compensation benefits in the State of Washington, would be entitled to a lien on the third party recovery from the negligent motorist or his insurance company. However, by statute, the Department of Labor and Industries reduces the amount of the reimbursement for a proportionate share of the cost of procuring the recovery. In other words, the Department of Labor and Industries pays for a portion of the attorney's fees and costs in obtaining the settlement from the negligent driver's insurance company.

Unfortunately, the fact that there is a worker's compensation claim associated with an accident, such as an automobile accident, is not always recognized. Since the workers' compensation statute requires that a claim be filed with the Department of Labor and Industries within one year, it is possible to lose the worker's compensation claim by failing to act.

Therefore, it is important to ascertain whether or not a person is 'on the job' when he sustains an injury. It is not limited to the employer's premises, as is often erroneously believed.

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