Not every workplace injury is just a workers’ comp case. A construction worker hurt on a Minnesota job site may have a comp claim against his employer and a separate negligence claim against the general contractor or another subcontractor on the site. A delivery driver injured in a traffic accident may have a comp claim and a third-party auto liability claim. A factory worker hurt by defective machinery may have a comp claim and a product liability claim against the manufacturer of the equipment. These overlapping claims — what Minnesota practitioners call third-party actions — frequently produce recoveries that are significantly larger than what comp pays alone.
At Schoep & McCashin, Chtd., we evaluate both sides of every workplace injury case. The comp claim runs through the Office of Administrative Hearings. The civil claim, where one exists, proceeds in state district court under regular tort principles.
Why Both Sides Often Matter
Minnesota’s exclusive remedy rule lives in Minn. Stat. § 176.031. The injured worker generally cannot sue the employer in civil court for a workplace injury — comp is the only remedy against the employer, outside a narrow set of intentional-conduct exceptions. But the exclusive remedy rule only shields the employer. Everyone else whose negligence contributed to the injury remains exposed to ordinary civil liability — a different contractor on the site, the property owner, the manufacturer of defective equipment, an at-fault driver in a work-related collision, a separate company sharing the worksite.
A successful third-party claim recovers categories of damages that comp does not include at all — full medical expenses (not just the comp-approved portion), pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, full lost-earning-capacity damages, and loss of consortium for spouses. The case proceeds under Minnesota tort law, with damages decided by a jury rather than calculated under a statutory formula.
Workplace Injury Matters We Handle
Our practice covers:
- Construction site accidents involving multiple contractors
- Falls from heights, scaffolding, and roof work
- Caught-in and crushing injuries involving industrial machinery
- Trench collapses and excavation incidents
- Electrocution and arc flash injuries
- Repetitive trauma and Gillette injuries
- Industrial machinery accidents and equipment defects
- Vehicle collisions during the course of employment
- Defective product injuries occurring at work
- Toxic exposure cases including asbestos and chemical exposure
- Slip, trip, and fall injuries on third-party premises
- Fatal workplace accidents and death benefits
- MNOSHA citation issues affecting injury cases
MNOSHA and the Investigation Trail
Minnesota has its own state-plan OSHA program, MNOSHA, which enforces workplace safety standards through investigations, inspections, and citations. Employers must report fatalities to MNOSHA within eight hours and hospitalizations within twenty-four hours under Minnesota Rules Chapter 5205. The investigation that follows a serious workplace injury often produces evidence relevant to both the comp case and the third-party civil case. MNOSHA citations against contractors, property owners, or equipment manufacturers can support the civil negligence claim — and the MNOSHA file is often where the real story of what went wrong gets documented.
Subrogation and the Comp Carrier’s Lien
When both a comp claim and a civil third-party claim exist for the same injury, the comp carrier has subrogation rights against the civil recovery under Minn. Stat. § 176.061. The carrier can recover the benefits it paid out of the civil settlement or verdict, but the worker is entitled to credit for the attorney’s fees and litigation costs that produced the recovery — the formula commonly known as Naig credits, after the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision in Naig v. Bloomington Sanitation. How the two cases get structured, including the timing of settlement and the language used in releases, can substantially affect what the injured worker actually keeps after the carrier’s subrogation interest is satisfied.
How We Approach the Work
Every workplace injury case begins with evaluating both the comp side and the third-party side. Some are comp-only cases. Some have substantial civil components that would otherwise be overlooked. Some have third-party cases worth far more than the comp claim. The difference often becomes clear only after the underlying facts get developed and the responsible parties identified. We do that early work so the worker recovers from every available source.
Contact Schoep & McCashin
If you or a family member has been hurt at work in Alexandria, Douglas County, or anywhere in west-central Minnesota, contact Schoep & McCashin for a confidential consultation. We evaluate both the comp side and the civil third-party potential at no cost.