Miss this issue after a serious injury, and money can be left on the table. A third-party claim is a claim against someone other than the person or business directly tied to your main insurance or legal relationship. In plain terms, if you are hurt and somebody outside that relationship helped cause it, you may have a separate right to seek compensation from that outside party. In a work injury case, that usually means a lawsuit or insurance claim against someone other than your employer, such as a careless driver, a subcontractor, a property owner, or an equipment manufacturer.

That matters because workers' compensation often covers medical care and wage loss, but it does not usually pay for everything. A third-party claim may allow recovery for pain and suffering, fuller lost income, and other damages not available in workers' comp. Picture a farm truck rollover caused by a road hazard or a defective part: workers' comp may be one path, while a third-party case may be another.

In Maine, a third-party injury case can also rise or fall on fault. Under the state's modified comparative fault rule, 14 M.R.S. § 156 (1965), recovery is barred if the injured person is 50 percent or more at fault. So if a crash involved spring potholes, frost-heaved roads, and driver error, fault allocation can directly affect what a claim is worth. A workers' comp insurer may also have a lien or subrogation interest in any recovery.