What if my injury was caused by a co-worker?
Answer
If your injury was caused by a coworker—which is very common, whether negligence is involved or not—you may still qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. As long as you can show the injury resulted from workplace activities, whether caused by you, your coworker, or someone else at work, you remain eligible for benefits. For example, if a coworker is driving and you’re a passenger on the way to a job site, or you’re transporting materials as part of your duties and the coworker drives negligently and causes an accident, you would still be covered. In many situations, your only remedy is through the Workers’ Compensation Act, since the law prevents you from suing your employer or coworkers directly. If you need guidance on proving work-related liability, our Rhode Island workers compensation lawyers can help you navigate the process. You can also review our RI workers’ comp benefits for broader eligibility standards. You can also review how claims work when partial fault or shared fault is involved.