Can I Sue My Employer Outside of Alabama’s Workers Compensation Laws?

Can I Sue My Employer Outside of Alabama’s Workers Compensation Laws?

Understanding Alabama’s Workers’ Compensation Exclusive Remedy Rule

One of the first questions many injured workers ask after a serious job-related injury is: “If my employer caused my injury, why can’t I sue them outside of Alabama’s Workers’ Compensation System?”

It is a reasonable question.

If another driver causes a car accident, you can generally file a personal injury lawsuit. If a store owner fails to correct a dangerous condition that causes you to fall, you may have a premises liability claim. In most situations, the person or company whose negligence causes an injury can be sued.

So why is a job-related injury different?

The answer lies in one of the most important principles of Alabama workers’ compensation law—the exclusive remedy doctrine.

Understanding this rule can help you understand why most job-related injuries are handled through Alabama’s workers’ compensation system rather than through a negligence lawsuit against your employer.

The Short Answer

In most cases, you cannot sue your employer for ordinary negligence if you suffer a covered job-related injury.  Instead, your rights and benefits are generally governed by the Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act.

In exchange for giving up the right to sue your employer for negligence, Alabama law provides certain benefits without requiring you to prove that your employer did anything wrong.

Those benefits may include:

• Medical treatment
• Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits
• Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits
• Permanent disability benefits
• Vocational rehabilitation benefits in appropriate cases
• Death benefits for eligible dependents

This legal trade-off is known as the exclusive remedy rule.

Recommended Reading: Understanding Alabama’s Workers’ Compensation Benefits.

How Did We Get Here?

To understand why the law works this way today, it helps to understand how injured workers were treated before workers’ compensation laws existed.  Prior to the adoption of workers’ compensation statutes, an employee injured on the job generally had only one way to recover compensation.  The employee had to sue the employer.  At first, that may sound like a better system, but in reality, it often left injured workers with nothing.

Even when an employer had been careless, several legal defenses frequently prevented recovery.

Among the most common were:

• Contributory negligence
• Assumption of the risk
• The fellow-servant doctrine

If an employer successfully established one of these defenses, the injured worker often recovered nothing at all.

No medical benefits.

No wage replacement.

No compensation for a permanent disability.

For many injured workers and their families, the consequences were financially devastating.

The Grand Bargain

Workers’ compensation laws were created to solve those problems.

Lawyers often describe workers’ compensation as the Grand Bargain.  The bargain required both employees and employers to give up important legal rights.

Employees Gave Up

Employees generally gave up the right to sue their employers for ordinary negligence arising out of covered job-related injuries.

Employers Gave Up

Employers accepted responsibility for providing workers’ compensation benefits regardless of fault.  An employee no longer had to prove that the employer acted negligently before receiving medical treatment or disability benefits.

Likewise, an employer generally could not avoid paying benefits simply because no one had done anything wrong.

This compromise remains the foundation of Alabama’s Workers’ Compensation Act.

Learn More: Workers’ Compensation: A Short History

What Does “Exclusive Remedy” Mean?

The phrase “exclusive remedy” simply means that workers’ compensation is generally the only remedy available against your employer for a covered accidental job-related injury.

Rather than filing a negligence lawsuit, the injured employee seeks the benefits provided by the Workers’ Compensation Act.  This means that even if an employer failed to provide a safe workplace or made mistakes that contributed to an accident, the employee’s claim is generally handled within the workers’ compensation system instead of through a civil lawsuit.

That rule applies to most accidental injuries covered by the Act.

Does This Mean I Can Never Sue My Employer outside Alabama’s Workers Comp System?

No.

Although the exclusive remedy rule is broad, it is not unlimited.  Certain claims may exist outside the Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act.

For example, Alabama courts have recognized that some independent tort claims are not necessarily barred simply because a workers’ compensation claim also exists.

Likewise, some disputes may involve conduct occurring after the injury or legal rights that are separate from the work-related accident itself.

Whether a claim falls outside the exclusive remedy provisions depends upon the specific facts of the case and the applicable Alabama law.  Some examples of when an injured worker may also pursue a personal injury claim against their employer along with a claim for Alabama workers’ compensation benefits include:

1. Retaliatory Discharge (The Most Common)

This is by far the most common tort claim brought against an employer by an injured worker.

If an employee is terminated solely because he or she filed or maintained a workers’ compensation claim, Alabama recognizes a statutory claim for retaliatory discharge under Ala. Code § 25-5-11.1.

Damages can include:

• Lost wages
• Future lost earnings
• Mental anguish
• Punitive damages (where appropriate)

This is completely separate from the workers’ compensation claim.

Recommended Reading: Afraid of Being Fired After Suffering a Work-Related Injury?

2. Fraud or Misrepresentation During the Handling of the Claim

The exclusivity provisions do not necessarily shield an employer (or insurer) from liability for intentional fraud committed after the injury.

Examples might include:

• Intentionally misrepresenting workers’ compensation rights.
• Falsifying documents.
• Concealing insurance coverage.
• Knowingly making false statements to induce an employee to give up benefits.
• Misleading injured workers about the statute of limitations.

These claims are difficult, but Alabama appellate courts have recognized that intentional fraud may fall outside workers’ compensation exclusivity.

Recommend Reading: Alabama’s Statute of Limitations Explained and From the Files of Powell and Denny.

3. Intentional Torts by the Employer

Workers’ compensation was designed to replace negligence claims—not intentional wrongdoing.  If the employer actually intends to injure the employee, or their actions are so reckless as to almost ensure a worker will be injured, exclusivity may not apply.

Examples might include:

• Physical assault by the employer,
• Removal of safety devices, or
• Failure to fix machines after notice has been provided of the need to repair work

These cases are rare because proving actual intent is extremely difficult and can generally only be established through litigation.

Recommended Reading: Can I Sue My Employer Outside of Alabama’s Workers’ Compensation System?

4. Employer Has No Workers’ Compensation Coverage

If an employer is required to carry workers’ compensation insurance but fails to do so, the employee may have options outside the Act.

The employer generally loses many of the protections provided by the Workers’ Compensation Act and may be exposed to a civil negligence action.

See: Ala.Code Section 25-5-8

5. Dual Capacity Doctrine (Very Rare)

Suppose the employer occupies a completely separate legal role independent of being the employer.

Examples sometimes discussed nationally include:

• hospital treating its own employee as a patient,
• manufacturer selling a defective product to the public that later injures one of its employees,
• employer acting as landlord.

Alabama has recognized the doctrine in theory but has applied it extremely narrowly.

6. Conduct Completely Outside the Employment Relationship

Sometimes an employer commits wrongful conduct that has nothing to do with providing employment.

Examples:

• Defamation.
• Invasion of privacy.
• Conversion of property.
• Certain intentional emotional distress claims.
• Malicious Prosecution

Those claims may not be barred because they do not arise from the compensable workplace injury itself.  Last year Powell and Denny settled a malicious prosecution case for $400,000.00 in a case where in response to our workers’ compensation and retaliatory discharge claim, the employer counter-sued our client alleging fraud.  Such actions are not protected by the exclusivity doctrine contained in Alabama’s workers’ compensation law.

What If Someone Else Caused My Injury?

The exclusive remedy rule generally protects your employer, but it does not protect everyone else.

If another person or company caused your injury, you may have a separate personal injury claim in addition to your workers’ compensation claim.

Examples include:

• Another driver causes a collision while you are working.
• A subcontractor causes a construction accident.
• Defective machinery causes your injuries.
• A property owner fails to maintain safe premises.
• A manufacturer sells defective equipment.

These claims are commonly referred to as third-party claims because they involve someone other than your employer.

For more information, see our article:

Recommended Reading: Can I Have Both a Workers’ Compensation Claim and a Personal Injury Claim?

Common Misunderstandings

“If my employer was negligent, I can sue.”  Usually not.  Most negligence claims against employers are replaced by the Workers’ Compensation Act.

“Workers’ compensation means I can never sue anyone.”  Incorrect.  You may still have claims against negligent third parties.

“Workers’ compensation pays everything.”  It does not.  Workers’ compensation provides specific statutory benefits. Unlike most personal injury claims, workers’ compensation generally does not provide damages for pain and suffering or mental anguish.

When Should You Speak With an Attorney?

Although not every workers’ compensation claim requires an attorney, you should consider seeking legal advice if:

• Your claim has been denied.
• Your weekly benefits have stopped.
• Surgery has been recommended.
• You have permanent work restrictions.
• Your employer disputes that your injury is work-related.
• Another person or company may have contributed to your injury.
• You are considering settling your claim.
• You have questions about your future benefits.

Receiving advice early in the process can help you better understand your legal rights and avoid mistakes that may affect your claim.

The Bottom Line

Most Alabama employees who suffer a covered job-related injury cannot sue their employer for ordinary negligence.  Instead, their rights are generally governed by the Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act.

That does not mean every legal issue arising from a job-related injury ends with workers’ compensation. Depending upon the facts, an injured worker may have claims against negligent third parties or other legal claims that fall outside the Workers’ Compensation Act.

Understanding the difference is important because identifying all available legal claims can significantly affect the benefits and compensation available after a serious job-related injury.

At Powell and Denny, we have spent decades helping injured workers prove the connection between their workplace accidents and the benefits to which they are entitled under Alabama law.

If you have suffered a job injury and you have questions about your rights and benefits under Alabama’s workers compensation laws -don’t hesitate to contact and speak with one of the experienced Alabama Workers Compensation and Social Security Disability attorneys at Powell and Denny today for a free consultation. Appointments are available in person, or virtually via Zoom if more convenient.  Powell and Denny would appreciate the opportunity to help.  And remember, there is no fee unless you win.