Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Injury Claims in Coral Springs and Broward County

A workplace injury can upend your life without warning. One moment you are doing your job; the next, you are facing pain, medical bills, lost wages, and a system that can feel confusing and adversarial from the start. Florida’s workers’ compensation system exists to give injured workers access to medical care and wage replacement — but it also carries rules, deadlines, and limitations that can work against you if you do not understand them.

What workers’ compensation does not do, in most cases, is make you whole. It does not pay for pain and suffering or the full value of your lost earning capacity. And when a third party — not your employer — contributed to your injury, workers’ compensation may not even be your most important legal remedy.

Eric A. Hernandez of HLM Injury Lawyers has spent more than 25 years pursuing accountability for injured people throughout South Florida. A former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida who clerked for Chief Justice Charles T. Wells of the Florida Supreme Court, Eric brings legal experience to workplace injury cases that reaches well beyond the workers’ comp system. When a third party is responsible for what happened to you, Eric pursues that claim with the same focus he brings to every serious personal injury case.

Call HLM Injury Lawyers at (305) 842-2100 for a free consultation. We serve injured workers across Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Margate, Tamarac, Pompano Beach, and throughout Broward County.

How Florida Workers’ Compensation Works

Florida requires most employers with four or more employees to carry workers’ compensation insurance. In construction — one of the most active industries in Broward County — that threshold drops to one employee. If your employer is properly covered and you are injured on the job, workers’ compensation is your primary source of benefits, regardless of who was at fault.

Those benefits generally cover medical treatment related to your injury and a portion of your lost wages while you cannot work. The system is built to move quickly and avoid prolonged disputes over fault — and in exchange, workers typically give up the right to sue their employer directly.

That trade-off is the core of the “exclusive remedy” rule. In most cases, workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer. You cannot bring a standard personal injury lawsuit against your employer for a workplace accident, even if the employer was clearly negligent.

But that rule applies to your employer — not to everyone else who may share responsibility for your injury.

When a Third-Party Claim Opens the Door to More

The most important thing to understand about workplace injuries is that workers’ compensation is often not your only legal option. When someone other than your employer contributed to your injury, you may have a third-party personal injury claim alongside your workers’ comp case — and unlike workers’ comp, that claim can include pain and suffering, the full value of lost earning capacity, and other damages workers’ comp does not cover.

Common third-party scenarios include:

• Subcontractors and General Contractors: On construction sites, multiple contractors often work side by side. If a subcontractor’s negligence caused your injury — or a general contractor failed to maintain a safe worksite — a third-party claim against that contractor may be available while your workers’ comp case proceeds.
• Equipment Manufacturers: If defective equipment hurt you — a saw without adequate guarding, a crane with a mechanical failure, a vehicle with a dangerous flaw — the manufacturer may be liable under products liability. This claim is separate from your employer and from workers’ comp.
• Property Owners: If your injury occurred on property owned by someone other than your employer — a client’s facility, a third party’s premises — and a dangerous condition there contributed to it, the property owner may be liable.
• Delivery Drivers and Other Motorists: Workers hurt in traffic accidents on the job may have both a workers’ comp claim and a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver.

Identifying every avenue of recovery is one of the most valuable things an attorney can do in a workplace injury case. Eric evaluates how the injury occurred, who was present, what equipment was involved, and where the accident happened — specifically to find third-party claims that others might miss.

The Exclusive Remedy Rule and Its Limits

The exclusive remedy doctrine shields employers from personal injury lawsuits by their own injured employees — but Florida courts recognize important exceptions. If your employer lacks the required workers’ compensation coverage, you may be able to sue the employer directly in civil court. And if an employer’s conduct rises to the level of an intentional act — rather than negligence — a direct claim may be possible.

These exceptions are narrow and fact-specific. The more common route to full compensation beyond workers’ comp is the third-party claim, which applies in a wide range of workplace accidents and does not require defeating the exclusive remedy doctrine.

Steps to Take After a Workplace Injury

Report the Injury to Your Employer Promptly: Florida’s workers’ compensation system requires timely notice of your injury. Delays in reporting can complicate your benefits claim.

Seek Medical Treatment: Your employer or their insurer may direct you to specific providers under the workers’ comp system. Follow those directions, but also keep detailed records of your symptoms, treatment, and how the injury affects your daily life and ability to work.

Preserve Evidence of How the Injury Happened: Photographs of the scene, witness names, defective equipment, and any conditions that contributed to the accident all matter — both for workers’ comp and for any third-party claim.

Consult a Personal Injury Attorney: Workers’ comp attorneys focus on the workers’ comp system. A personal injury attorney evaluates whether third-party claims exist and pursues them through the civil courts. These are separate matters, and the right counsel for each is important.

Do Not Accept a Settlement Without Legal Review: Whether an offer comes from a workers’ comp insurer or a third party’s insurer, have an attorney review it before you accept. Early offers rarely reflect the full value of your claim.

Florida Law and Workplace Injury Claims

Workers’ Compensation Coverage Requirements: Most Florida employers with four or more employees must carry workers’ compensation coverage. Construction employers must carry it starting with one employee.

Exclusive Remedy: Workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against your employer for a workplace injury, subject to the narrow exceptions noted above.

Third-Party Personal Injury Claims: If a third party contributed to your injury, a personal injury claim against that party proceeds under standard negligence principles. Under HB 837, Florida’s 2023 tort reform law, the statute of limitations for negligence claims is 2 years from the date of the accident — reduced from the prior 4-year period. This deadline applies to third-party workplace injury claims.

Modified Comparative Negligence: Florida’s modified comparative negligence standard applies to third-party claims. If you are found 51% or more at fault, you cannot recover on the third-party claim. Below that threshold, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault — a plaintiff found exactly 50% at fault can still recover.

Why Hire Eric Hernandez for Your Workplace Injury Case

• A Prosecutor’s Perspective: Third-party workplace injury claims often involve corporate defendants — contractors, equipment manufacturers, property management companies. Eric’s federal prosecutor background gives him the investigative instincts and adversarial preparation to pursue those defendants, even when they have significant resources on their side.
• Direct Attorney Access: Eric personally handles every case at HLM Injury Lawyers. He knows your file, understands your injury, and is available to answer your questions. You will not be passed between staff members for the most important decisions in your case.
• Trial-Ready Representation: Third-party claims involving defective equipment or construction site negligence may require extended litigation. Eric has more than 25 years of trial experience and is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. He is prepared to take your case to a jury when the situation calls for it.
• Bilingual Service / No Fee Unless We Win: HLM Injury Lawyers serves clients fully in English and Spanish. Personal injury cases — including third-party workplace injury claims — are handled on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you.

Contact HLM Injury Lawyers — Free Consultation

If you were hurt on the job, do not assume workers’ compensation covers everything — it often does not. Call HLM Injury Lawyers at (305) 842-2100 for a free consultation and find out whether a third-party claim could significantly increase your recovery. We represent injured workers throughout Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Margate, Tamarac, Pompano Beach, and all of Broward County.

Free consultation. No fee unless we win.