If you were hurt on the job in Los Angeles, workers’ compensation is not the end of the story. A workers compensation third-party claim in Los Angeles is a separate lawsuit you can bring against someone other than your employer who caused your injury. That person might be a general contractor, an equipment maker, a property owner, or a driver who hit you. Workers’ comp pays a fraction of what you lost. This second claim can recover the rest.
Most injured workers never hear about this. They take the comp check and assume that is all the law allows. It is not.
Key Takeaway: A third-party claim lets an injured Los Angeles worker recover money that workers’ compensation never pays. Comp covers limited medical care and a slice of lost wages. A third-party personal injury lawsuit against the non-employer who caused the harm recovers full lost earning capacity and full pain and suffering on top of comp.
What is a third-party claim in a work injury case?
A third-party claim is a personal injury lawsuit against someone other than your employer whose negligence caused your workplace injury. It runs alongside your workers’ compensation claim, not instead of it. Comp is a no-fault system you collect from your employer. A third-party claim requires you to prove the other party was at fault, and in return it pays full damages.
Picture a warehouse worker crushed by a forklift with defective brakes. Comp pays the medical bills and partial wages. The forklift manufacturer is a third party, and it can be sued for everything comp left out. One injury, but two claims and two separate sources of money.
Why does workers’ comp leave so much money on the table?
Workers’ comp pays nothing for pain and suffering, and it replaces only about two-thirds of your average wages up to a state cap. That cap leaves higher earners far short of what they actually lost. The system was built that way on purpose. In exchange for fast, no-fault benefits, you give up the right to sue your employer.
The scale of workplace injury in California is large. The state Department of Industrial Relations and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics record hundreds of thousands of nonfatal workplace injuries in California each year, plus more than 500 workplace fatalities annually. For a worker left with a permanent disability, the gap between what comp pays and what the injury truly costs can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In our experience, the difference between a comp-only recovery and a comp-plus-third-party recovery is often the difference between losing a home and keeping one.
Who can you sue in a third-party work injury claim?
You can sue any non-employer whose negligence or defective product contributed to your injury. On a typical Los Angeles job site, the most common third-party defendants are general contractors, subcontractors, property owners, equipment and product manufacturers, and at-fault drivers.
- General contractors and subcontractors: A different company on the site that created a dangerous condition or ignored a safety rule.
- Property owners: An owner who let a hazard sit on the premises where you were working. Our Los Angeles construction accident lawyers see this constantly on sites with multiple employers.
- Equipment and product manufacturers: A defective tool, machine, or vehicle. These are strict product liability cases, where you do not even have to prove carelessness, only that the product was defective. A product liability attorney in Los Angeles can pursue the maker directly.
- At-fault drivers: If you were driving for work and another motorist hit you, that driver is a third party.
The most common mistake we see is a worker assuming the only company involved is their own employer. On a busy construction site there are often five or six different companies, and any one of them could be the negligent party.
What does California law say about your right to a third-party claim?
California law expressly protects your right to bring a third-party claim. Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer under Labor Code section 3602, which is why you generally cannot sue the employer directly. But Labor Code section 3852 preserves your right to sue any non-employer who caused your injury.
A third-party tort claim recovers full damages: all past and future medical expenses, your full lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering. Ordinary personal injury cases carry no cap on non-economic damages, so there is no statutory ceiling on what a jury can award for your suffering.
There is a catch worth understanding. Under Labor Code sections 3856 and 3861, your employer or its comp insurer holds a lien against your third-party recovery and can be reimbursed for the benefits it paid. A good lawyer negotiates that lien down, often by a lot, so more of the settlement stays with you. Narrow exceptions also let you sue an employer directly in rare situations, such as a power-press injury under Labor Code section 4558, but those are the exception, not the rule. You can read the statutes themselves at California’s legislative information site.
How long do you have to file a third-party claim?
You have two years from the date of injury to file a third-party personal injury lawsuit in California, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. That deadline is completely separate from your workers’ compensation deadlines. There is more in our overview of personal injury law in California.
Miss the two-year window and the third-party claim is gone for good, even if your comp claim is still open. Evidence disappears fast too. Defective machines get repaired, job sites change, and witnesses move on. The sooner a lawyer locks down the evidence, the stronger your case. Cal-OSHA inspection records, available through the Department of Industrial Relations, are part of what we move to preserve early.
Workers’ comp vs. third-party claim: what is the difference?
The two claims differ on almost every point that matters to your recovery. Here is a side-by-side look.
| Feature | Workers’ Compensation | Third-Party Claim |
|---|---|---|
| Who you recover from | Your employer (via its insurer) | A negligent non-employer |
| Must you prove fault? | No. It is no-fault. | Yes. You prove negligence or a defect. |
| Pain and suffering | Not paid at all | Fully recoverable, no cap |
| Lost wages | About two-thirds, up to a state cap | Full lost earning capacity |
| Medical expenses | Covered, but the insurer controls care | Full past and future medical |
| Deadline to file | Comp-specific deadlines | Two years (CCP 335.1) |
| Can you pursue both? | Yes | Yes, at the same time |
For workers with permanent or catastrophic harm, the third-party claim is usually where the real recovery lives. Our catastrophic injury attorneys in Los Angeles handle exactly these high-stakes cases.
Can you really pursue both claims at once?
Yes. California law lets you collect workers’ compensation and pursue a third-party lawsuit at the same time for the same injury. Filing the third-party claim does not cancel your comp benefits. The two just have to be coordinated so the comp lien is handled correctly at the end.
This is why so many injured workers leave money behind. They think the claims are an either-or choice. They are not. Your comp benefits keep coming while your lawyer builds the civil case that pays for everything comp ignores.
You did not choose to get hurt. You should not have to choose between paying rent and getting the full recovery the law actually allows.
Frequently asked questions
What is considered a third-party claim?
A third-party claim is a personal injury lawsuit against someone other than your employer who caused your work injury. The third party can be a contractor, a property owner, a product manufacturer, or a driver. It is separate from workers’ compensation and recovers damages comp does not pay.
What is the difference between a workers’ comp claim and a third-party claim?
A workers’ comp claim is a no-fault benefit you collect from your employer, and it pays nothing for pain and suffering. A third-party claim is a fault-based lawsuit against a non-employer that recovers full damages, including pain and suffering and full lost earning capacity. You can pursue both for the same injury.
What is an example of a third-party work injury claim?
A delivery driver rear-ended by another car while working has a comp claim against the employer and a third-party claim against the at-fault driver. A laborer hurt by a defective nail gun has a comp claim plus a product liability claim against the manufacturer. The third party is whoever caused the harm but is not your employer.
Does filing a third-party claim cancel my workers’ comp benefits?
No. Filing a third-party lawsuit does not end your workers’ compensation benefits. The two claims run together. Your employer or its insurer may hold a lien against the third-party recovery, but your comp benefits continue while the civil case proceeds.
How much does a third-party work injury lawyer cost?
Most personal injury lawyers, including our firm, handle third-party work injury claims on contingency. You pay no upfront fee. The attorney is paid a percentage only if you recover money, so there is no out-of-pocket risk to having your case reviewed.
Will my employer be angry if I file a third-party claim?
A third-party claim is filed against a negligent outside party, not your employer, so it does not put your employer on the hook for a lawsuit. Your employer’s insurer often benefits, because the third-party recovery reimburses part of what comp paid. Retaliation for pursuing a legitimate injury claim is also illegal in California.
Talk to a Los Angeles third-party work injury lawyer today
If you were hurt at work and anyone other than your employer may have caused it, you could be owed far more than your comp check. There is no fee to find out, and the two-year clock is already running. See how we can help across our personal injury practice areas. Call (888) 42-BORNA for a free consultation.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different, and you should consult a licensed California attorney about your specific situation. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.