After Hawaii's annual workers' compensation benefit rate update, a lot of people make the same mistake: they assume workers' comp is the only money available because the crash happened on the job.

Usually, it is not your only option.

In Hawaii, your employer is often protected by the exclusive remedy rule under HRS Chapter 386. That means you generally cannot sue your employer for a work injury if workers' comp covers it. But you can still pursue a third-party claim against someone else who caused the crash - for example, an oversize-load company, a subcontractor running a lane shift badly, a flagger company, or another driver in a Pearl City work zone on Kamehameha Highway or near the H-1.

So what is it worth? There is no fixed number, because the money can come from multiple tracks:

• Workers' comp: medical care and wage-loss benefits
• Hawaii no-fault/PIP auto coverage: first $10,000 in personal injury protection from the vehicle policy
• Third-party injury claim: pain and suffering, full lost earnings, and other damages not paid by comp

If your crash was caused by a non-employer driver or contractor, the third-party case is often the part with the largest dollar value. In Hawaii auto cases, you usually need to meet the tort threshold to recover pain and suffering, including more than $5,000 in medical-rehabilitative expenses or another statutory threshold under HRS 431:10C-306.

For a military veteran using VA care, another common mistake is thinking "no bills" means "no case value." Wrong. The treatment records still matter, and workers' comp or auto insurers still evaluate the injury, disability time, and future care.

If it was only your employer's equipment, your employer's driver, and no outside company caused it, the case may be limited to workers' comp benefits only. If a third party was involved, the value can be far higher.