Workers' compensation will usually cover all your expenses that are associated with being injured while working for your employer. If you feel entitled to more compensation, you can potentially take action against the responsible party in court if one was directly involved with your accident. Here are two entities you could have a lawsuit against.

The Manufacture of a Toxic Substance

It's possible that you were working with toxic substances that you were not aware was dangerous at the time. For example, this is common with those that have mesothelioma and were working with asbestos. The employee may not have realized they were even working with asbestos, and their health suffered because of it. In this situation, the company that manufactured the product with asbestos may be liable for damages.

Work with a personal injury lawyer that can look into your legal options for suing the manufacture of a toxic substance. Each state has unique laws pertaining to when and how you can receive compensation. Even if the incident happened a while ago, time limits for filing a lawsuit may start when you were officially diagnosed or when the symptoms finally became evident.

Your Employer

Workers' compensation is designed to protect employees that are injured on the job, and the employers that the employees were working for at the time. Some states require employers to purchase insurance for workers' compensation, so suing an employer may not be a choice. Certain instances may still allow you to file a lawsuit though.

One circumstance that would allow a lawsuit against an employer is if the employer was doing something very reckless that caused your injury to occur. For example, this can include an employer that has a work environment that they knew wasn't safe, and did not take any actions towards making their work environment safer.

If your employer doesn't have insurance for workers' compensation, you can go after them for your damages. The benefit of workers' compensation is that you don't need to prove who was at fault to receive benefits from a workplace related injury, but with a lawsuit you would have to show that your employer was responsible to win in court. It will be treated like a personal injury lawsuit where negligence is required.

Thankfully, the risk to you for either kind of lawsuit is low. Most lawyers only make you pay if they win in court, with their pay being a percentage of the overall settlement. Contact a lawyer in your area to see if your case is strong enough for them to back you in court.