A forklift beside loaded pallets and racking inside a warehouse

Miami and Tampa workplace accident lawyer

Workers’ comp is not the only claim.

Workers’ compensation pays medical and a portion of lost wages without anyone proving fault, and in exchange it is normally the only claim you have against your employer. What it does not do is cut off a claim against anyone else who caused the injury — and on most job sites, someone else is involved.

Free case review Miami (305) 662-4323 Tampa (813) 930-5422

Against the employer: Comp onlyExclusive remedy. Fla. Stat. § 440.11
Against a third party: Full claimPain and suffering, full wage loss, future care
Deadline to sue: 2 yearsFla. Stat. § 95.11, for injuries on or after 24 March 2023
Immigration status: IrrelevantIt does not bar a Florida injury claim

01 The claim people never hear about

Workers’ compensation and third-party claims in Florida

Section 440.11 makes workers’ compensation the exclusive remedy against your employer. It says nothing about the subcontractor whose crew left the hazard, the driver who hit the company van, the manufacturer of the machine that lacked a guard, or the property owner who controlled the site.

Those are ordinary negligence claims, and they carry what comp does not: compensation for pain and suffering, the full wage loss rather than a fraction, and the cost of future care.

The two run in parallel. The comp carrier will usually assert a lien against the third-party recovery, and how that lien is handled affects what actually reaches the injured worker — which makes it worth dealing with deliberately rather than at the end.

02 Status

Does immigration status affect a Florida work injury claim

An injured worker in Florida has a claim regardless of immigration status. This is worth stating plainly because the fear of raising it is the single most common reason a legitimate claim is never brought at all — and because that fear is sometimes encouraged.

Jose Dapena was born in Puerto Rico and speaks Spanish, and so does the staff, so this conversation happens in Spanish from the first call rather than through an interpreter.

03 Where these cases come from

Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade injuries come from construction, hospitality, port and warehouse work, and from the service economy across the county. Homestead adds agricultural and packing work, where machinery, heat and vehicle injuries follow a predictable pattern.

The Miami office · Homestead

Hillsborough

Hillsborough is warehousing and distribution along the interstate, agriculture and packing in the south of the county, and construction throughout. Falls from height, machinery, heat illness and crashes on the drive to a job site are the recurring injuries.

The Tampa office

04 What damages a claim

Assuming workers’ compensation is the only available claim.
Not reporting the injury to the employer promptly and in writing.
Staying silent because of immigration status.
Settling the comp claim without anyone looking at the third-party case first.

Frequently asked questions about Florida workplace accidents

Can I be fired for filing a claim?

Retaliating against an employee for pursuing workers’ compensation is unlawful in Florida.

If it happens, the retaliation is its own matter and worth documenting from the first day — dates, who said what, and any change in hours or duties.

My employer says they have no insurance. What now?

That changes the route, not the right. Florida has mechanisms for uninsured employers, and an employer without required coverage may lose the protection of the exclusive remedy rule entirely.

It also makes the third-party claim more important, because it may be the only solvent source of recovery.

05 Related matters

The full list is on the personal injury page.

Tell Jose what happened

A free review of your workplace accidents case, with no obligation, and no fee and no costs unless there is a recovery. English or Spanish, whichever you would rather use. You speak with Jose A. Dapena directly at every stage, not with an intake department — and if there is no claim worth bringing, he will tell you that.

Miami (305) 662-4323 Homestead (786) 900-0184 Tampa (813) 930-5422