Answered on Jun 8, 2015
You have a workers compensation case, almost without any doubt. You are likely entitled to “specific loss” benefits for your scars and possibly related to loss of vision. You may also have a claim for ongoing wage losses. The good think about the workers compensation statutes – is that regardless of why the incident happened (absent willfulness or violation of a work rule etc) the employee generally recovers. However, the trade off is that the employee generally cannot sue the employer for negligence. There are a few exceptions but it is very limited. The insurer will not simply give you all you are entitled to related tot he scarring, so you would likely have to file a claim for benefits of some kind. Another note for you is that there are some additional protections for eye injuries regarding the period to make a claim which makes it more forgiving. It seems obvious that your employer knows about the injury – but be sure to specifically advise them of the injury and its work relatedness. This is definitely the type of case where you should be consulting with an attorney if you have not already. The consults are generally free, but you clearly need to get someone to file in this type of case. Good luck.