The police report might say you fell at a Dickinson church and "it was just an accident." That is not what decides your claim.

The most common bad advice is: "Use your own health insurance, don't file workers' comp, or you'll get fired and you can't sue anybody anyway." That is wrong on both parts.

If you were hurt while doing your job, your claim against your employer is usually through North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI), not a regular injury lawsuit. North Dakota's exclusive remedy rule usually protects a covered employer from being sued for a work injury.

But that does not mean nobody else can be sued.

If a church, property owner, general contractor, equipment company, or even an inflatable or bounce-house vendor caused the injury, you may have a third-party claim against them while also filing WSI. That dual-track setup is common on construction sites, farm-service jobs, and summer event work around Dickinson, especially when crews are moving between jobs on roads like I-94 or Highway 22.

What to do now:

• Report the injury immediately to your employer.
• Make sure a First Report of Injury goes to WSI.
• Get medical care and tell the provider it was a work injury.
• Save texts, schedule changes, write-ups, and messages if your boss starts cutting hours or pressuring you not to file.
• Get names of the church staff, subcontractors, delivery drivers, or vendors involved.

North Dakota employers are not supposed to punish workers for pursuing a valid WSI claim. If your boss suddenly cuts shifts, pushes you out, or tells you to lie and use private insurance, that paper trail matters.

Timing matters too. WSI claims generally must be filed within 1 year, but waiting is how workers get boxed out.