In Georgia, workers' compensation generally replaces any lawsuit against your own employer (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-11(a)). It doesn't stop you from suing a third party, meaning a company or person other than your employer or a co-worker, whose negligence caused the injury: another contractor's crew, an equipment owner, a property owner, or a driver. A third-party claim is an ordinary injury claim. If comp paid benefits, the employer or its insurer may have a lien on the third-party recovery, but only if you've been fully and completely compensated (§ 34-9-11.1). Parisi Law Firm handles the third-party claim, not comp benefits.
Construction sites put many companies on the same ground: a general contractor, several subcontractors, equipment rental companies, delivery drivers, and suppliers. When one of them causes an injury, the company responsible is often not the one that signs your paycheck.
This page explains the difference between the two kinds of claims, who can and usually can't be sued, and how the two claims affect each other.
Two different claims
Workers' compensation is the system for claims against your own employer. Under O.C.G.A. § 34-9-11(a), the rights and remedies in the comp law replace an employee's other claims against the employer for a work injury, unless the employer expressly agreed in writing to additional remedies. In practice, that means you generally can't sue your employer in court for a jobsite injury.
The same statute protects your other rights: "No employee shall be deprived of any right to bring an action against any third-party tort-feasor." A third-party claim is an ordinary injury claim against someone else whose negligence caused the injury. It's brought in court, the usual Georgia injury rules apply, and it can seek the full range of damages Georgia allows in injury cases, including pain and suffering.
Who may be a third party on a jobsite
Each case depends on how the job was organized: who controlled the work area, what the contracts assigned to whom, and who owned and maintained the equipment. Depending on the facts, a third party may include:
- Another contractor or subcontractor whose crew created the hazard.
- The owner or rental company of defective or poorly maintained equipment.
- The property owner, depending on who controlled the site.
- A driver or trucking company operating on or near the site.
- The manufacturer of a defective tool, machine, or safety device.
Who usually can't be sued
Section 34-9-11 also lists people who aren't treated as third parties:
- Co-workers: employees of the same employer.
- A person or company that provides workers' compensation benefits to the injured employee under a contract with the employer.
- A construction design professional (a licensed architect, engineer, landscape architect, geologist, or land surveyor) retained for the project, unless they took on responsibility for safety practices on the site by written contract. That protection doesn't cover negligently prepared plans and specifications, their own negligent acts on the site that cause the injury, or intentional misconduct.
- A business that uses workers from a temporary help firm or an employee leasing company, when the comp benefits are provided (§ 34-9-11(c)).
General contractors and the contract chain
Georgia's comp law can make a general contractor or a higher-tier subcontractor responsible for comp benefits to a subcontractor's employees, to the same extent as the immediate employer (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-8). When that rule applies, it can affect whether that contractor can be sued as a third party. That's one reason the contracts and the chain of companies on the job matter, and why it helps to write down every company working on site that day.
How the two claims affect each other
If your employer or its comp insurer paid benefits, it has a lien on your third-party recovery under O.C.G.A. § 34-9-11.1(b). The lien can't exceed the comp benefits actually paid, covering disability, death, and medical benefits. It can be recovered only if you've been "fully and completely compensated" for all your economic and noneconomic losses, counting both the comp benefits and the third-party recovery. The employer or insurer may join the lawsuit to protect its lien.
Timing matters too. The third-party claim has to be filed within the regular deadline, which for most injury claims is two years (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). If you haven't sued within one year of the injury, the employer or its insurer may bring the claim itself, in its own name or yours. It must notify you, and you may join the case (§ 34-9-11.1(c)).
Georgia's fault rule also applies to the third-party claim: you can recover only if you were less than 50% at fault, and your damages are reduced by your share (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33). See Georgia's 50% fault rule.
What Parisi Law Firm handles, and what we don't
Parisi Law Firm doesn't handle workers' compensation benefits claims. We handle the third-party injury claim against a company or person other than your employer, and we can look at whether one exists. If your question is only about comp benefits, the State Board of Workers' Compensation explains how a comp claim is filed, and a lawyer who handles comp cases can advise you.
If a worker died on the job, the family's options are different. See workplace deaths: can you sue in Georgia? and our wrongful death page.
What to do now
- Get medical care and report the injury to your employer.
- Write down every company, crew, and vehicle that was on site that day.
- Photograph the scene, the equipment involved, and your injuries, if you can do so safely.
- Keep every medical record, bill, pay stub, and out-of-work note.
- Don't give a recorded statement to any insurer before you've had advice. See the insurance company wants a statement.
Workers' comp and a third-party claim, side by side
| Workers' compensation | Third-party injury claim | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's against | Your employer, through its comp insurance | A company or person other than your employer or a co-worker |
| Can you sue in court? | Generally no; comp replaces suits against your employer (§ 34-9-11(a)) | Yes, as an ordinary injury lawsuit |
| What it can include | The benefits set by the comp law | The full range of injury damages, reduced by your share of fault |
| How they interact | The employer or insurer may have a lien on a third-party recovery | The lien applies only if you're fully and completely compensated (§ 34-9-11.1) |
| At Parisi Law Firm | Not handled | Handled |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue if I got hurt at work in Georgia?
Usually not your own employer, because workers' compensation generally replaces that lawsuit (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-11(a)). You may be able to sue a third party, such as another contractor, an equipment owner, a property owner, or a driver, whose negligence caused the injury.
Can I get workers' comp and file a third-party claim?
The two can exist at the same time. If comp paid benefits, the employer or insurer may have a lien on the third-party recovery, limited to the comp it paid and recoverable only if you've been fully and completely compensated (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-11.1).
Can I sue a co-worker who caused my injury?
Generally no. Georgia's comp law excludes employees of the same employer from the third parties an injured worker can sue (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-11(a)).
Does Parisi Law Firm handle workers' compensation claims?
No. We handle third-party injury claims against companies or people other than your employer. For comp benefits, the State Board of Workers' Compensation explains how a claim is filed.
Sources
- O.C.G.A. § 34-9-11 (exclusive remedy; third-party actions)
- O.C.G.A. § 34-9-11.1 (third-party actions; employer and insurer lien)
- O.C.G.A. § 34-9-8 (liability of principal and intermediate contractors)
- O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 (injuries to the person)
- O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 (apportionment and comparative fault)
- Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation
This guide is general information about Georgia law as of November 11, 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change and every case turns on its own facts. Talk to a lawyer about your situation before you rely on a deadline or rule described here.