There is no average North Dakota workers' comp verdict because you do not sue WSI for benefits; WSI pays set benefits under statute. The smarter move after a Fargo work-trip crash is usually to open a Workforce Safety & Insurance claim right away and also look at a third-party claim if someone besides your employer caused the wreck.

That is where a lot of bad advice starts. Employers in Fargo sometimes tell people it is "workers' comp only." That is not always true.

If you were driving for work on I-94, I-29, or between Fargo and West Fargo and a heat-related tire failure caused the crash, WSI should generally cover reasonable medical treatment and wage-loss benefits if the trip was part of your job. In North Dakota, employers use the state fund, Workforce Safety & Insurance, not a private workers' comp carrier. Report the injury to your employer quickly and make sure a First Report of Injury gets filed with WSI.

Here is how it plays out in real life.

Say you are a Fargo employee sent on a summer road trip to deliver supplies. A tire blows on I-94 near Casselton, your vehicle rolls, and you end up at Essentia or Sanford with a fractured wrist and a Medicare card in your wallet. Your boss says, "Just use Medicare and let WSI sort itself out later." That is backwards. WSI should be opened first for a work injury, because Medicare may demand repayment if workers' comp should have paid.

At the same time, if the blowout happened because a tire shop installed the wrong tire, a manufacturer sold a defective tire, or another tourist driver forced you off the road, that separate claim is not against your employer. That is a third-party claim, and it can include losses WSI does not pay, like pain and suffering.

So the better choice is usually WSI first, third-party claim second if the facts support it - not one or the other.