Vermont third-party injury settlements from vehicle crashes can range from the low five figures to well over $100,000 depending on surgery, lost wages, and long-term limits. No, workers' comp does not block a claim against a negligent third party just because you were on the clock.

What workers' comp blocks in Vermont is usually a lawsuit against your employer. That is the exclusive remedy rule under Vermont workers' compensation law: if you were hurt doing your job, your employer generally pays workers' comp benefits, and in exchange you usually cannot sue the employer for negligence.

That is not the same as the other driver.

If you are a nurse, teacher, or healthcare worker driving for work in or around Montpelier and a stranger hits you, you can have a dual-track case:

• a workers' comp claim for medical care and wage-loss benefits
• a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver and that driver's insurer

This comes up all the time with travel between facilities, home visits, school transport, and winter driving on roads like Route 100 or Route 4 over Sherburne Pass, where wildlife crossings, ice, and limited visibility make crashes worse.

The insurance company may be muddying the issue because workers' comp has a right to seek reimbursement from part of any third-party recovery. That does not erase your claim. It means the comp carrier may assert a lien for benefits it paid.

Two deadlines matter. Vermont workers' comp claims go through the Vermont Department of Labor, and the injury lawsuit against the other driver is generally subject to the 3-year statute of limitations for personal injury. Miss that civil deadline, and the third-party case can be gone even if comp is still open.

If the crash involved a co-worker driving a company vehicle, the analysis gets harder because the employer will likely raise the exclusive remedy defense fast. But for an unrelated driver, workers' comp is usually one lane and the injury lawsuit is another.