Q: Can I sue my company?
I work for a home heath care agency and they sent me to a patients house who had bed bugs, I got covered severely in bed bug bites and had to go to the emergency room to get treated for them. My job covered the hospital visit and put me on worker’s compensation. Can I sue my job or the patient for what happened to me?
A: You are asking a workers compensation question. The reason employers carry workers compensation insurance is because coverage is exclusive. What that means is that if the employer/insurance company determines that the injury, illness, or occupational disease was caused by or because of or related to work (i.e. you did not get the bedbugs by staying at some flea bag motel - no pun intended) then you can not sue your employer. However, let's say that you saw a linen company bring filthy bags or carrying cases into the house and it looked like the sheets or the employee of this 3rd party was infested, you did some research and discovered that this 3rd party not employed by your employer, gave you bed bugs, you probably could to sue the 3rd party not associated with your employer. Ask your workers compensation lawyer and if you do not have one you should. They work on contingent fees. If you do not recover benefits because of their work they do not get paid. Everyone who is injured at work should have a comp lawyer on their side. Good luck. A terrible scenario no doubt.
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