Pennsylvania Law does not allow you to sue your employer for negligence. Therefore if you are injured at work as a result of fault of your employer, the only benefits you may be entitled to are Workers Compensation benefits. However, quite often, people are injured at work due to the fault of someone other than their employer. For example, lets say you are working in an office for company A. While in the office, you slip and fall on water that was spilled by a delivery person who worked for company B. The employee of B noticed the water but did not clean it up or warn anyone the water was there. You may have a negligence action for your injury (a/k/a personal injury claim) against company B for spilling the water. In addition, you have a worker’s compensation claim against company A since you were injured in the course of your employment
In the negligence action, against company B, you can recover for items including but not limited to the difference in your wages, future wage loss, pain and suffering and out of pocket medical bills. In the workers compensation action against A you are entitled to receive a portion of your pay check while you are unable to work and to have your medical bills related to the work injury paid for. Both of these claims can proceed at the same time and relate to each other.
Therefore, it is important to have an attorney that practices both workers compensation claims and personal injury matters.