Can You File Workers’ Comp and a Personal Injury Lawsuit in NY?

New York’s workers’ compensation system is no-fault: it pays for medical treatment and replaces about two-thirds of your average weekly wage (up to the state maximum) regardless of who was at fault. A personal injury lawsuit against a negligent third party goes further — it can recover pain and suffering, full lost wages, and other damages that workers’ comp does not cover. Filing both allows you to maximize recovery while your employer’s workers’ comp insurer retains a lien on any third-party settlement.

A third party is anyone other than your employer or a co-worker acting in the scope of employment. Common examples in New York include negligent drivers (delivery or construction workers hit on the road), property owners where work is performed, manufacturers of defective tools or machinery, and contractors on a shared job site. If any of these parties’ negligence contributed to your injury, you may have a separate civil claim alongside your workers’ comp benefits.

Yes — New York law gives the workers’ comp carrier a right of subrogation, meaning it can recover from your third-party settlement the benefits it already paid you. In practice, your attorney negotiates this lien as part of the settlement process, and you keep the remainder. Winning a third-party lawsuit does not disqualify you from workers’ comp, but the two recoveries are coordinated to prevent a double recovery for the same losses.

New York’s statute of limitations for most personal injury lawsuits is three years from the date of injury under CPLR § 214. Your workers’ comp claim has a separate two-year deadline to file with the NY Workers’ Compensation Board. These deadlines run independently, so missing the WCB filing window does not automatically bar your civil lawsuit — but both clocks start running on the date of injury, and delaying either claim can hurt your case.