Adrian, MI Personal Injury Law Firms & Lawyers

As to your employer you can only collect workers' compensation benefits; you cannot file a civil suit against your employer if your employer or any co-employee caused your injury. The only civil suit you could bring is if there is a third party (such as person, company or agency) that is responsible for your work injury. If there is a third party person then you can file a civil suit against the third party. Workers' compensation does have an interest in any civil case you might bring. You do not describe the circumstances of how you were hurt so I cannot answer whether there is a third party you might be able to sue. An example of such as case would be if you were a driver and were injured when a person, not associated with your employer, rear-ends the vehicle you were driving. In this example you would have a workers' compensation claim against your employer and a civil suit against the person who caused the collision. You might want to talk to a workers' compensation attorney to get more information about your rights, options and whether you might have a third-party to sue.

In Michigan you may file a work comp claim if the employer/insurer refuses to pay your time off work and for appropriate medical care and treatment. Generally Michigan law does not give you an independent claim/suit directly versus the employer (except the aforesaid work company claim) but there are few exceptions to the general rule which you can discuss with the lawyer you consult.