Employer Negligence

Every employee has basic rights to safety and care while at work. While not every work environment may be able to ensure 100% safety it is still the responsibility of every employer to take all necessary precautions to uphold a duty of care to all employees of the company.

When an employer fails to take the steps needed to ensure safety in the workplace this negligent behavior can lead to employee harm, illness and in some cases even death.

Many people associate Employer Negligence with only physical harm or injury but in fact there are many different ways that an employer can be negligent with regards to employee safety and this can even include the sexual harassment of one employee by another.

Some of the most common types of employer negligence occur with surprising frequency, leading to physical, emotional, or psychological harm. A wide spectrum of actions and omissions can be involved, as you can see in these employer negligence examples:

• Negligent Hiring.
• Appropriate health and safety training was not provided.
• Negligent employee retention.
• Equipment and Machinery not maintained at safety standards.
• Unsafe work environment.
• Violations of safety codes.
• Work related illness.
• Exposure to toxic chemicals when an employer failed to provide proper personal protective equipment.

Accidents happen. The first thing to understand – whether you are planning to file an employer negligence case or if you are simply hoping to make up for lost wages – is that workers comp is “no fault” insurance that most employers pay into. Your employer does not have to be negligent, nor do they need to be found liable for your injury for you to receive workers compensation.

This means that anyone who is injured during the course of employment may be eligible for payments that cover medical expenses, at least a portion of lost income, and other costs that are directly related to the employee’s temporary or permanent disability. Even workers who are at fault in their own accidents may be covered by workers comp.

There’s more, though. If you accept workers compensation payments when you believe that your employer has been negligent in any way, and when you believe that that negligence led to your injury, you may not be able to file a lawsuit. It all depends on the circumstances surrounding the event, as well as on worker’s comp laws in each state.

It is wise to speak with an attorney before making claims of any kind.

If you believe that you are the victim of employer negligence, you may have grounds to file a civil lawsuit. It all begins with seeking professional help from someone who understands this area of law, and who specializes in holding negligent employers accountable.

Can I Sue My Employer for Negligence?

When filing legal action negligence must be proven using four main elements:

• Duty: The employer had a specific responsibility to the employee. 
• Breach: The employer breached that duty, perhaps by allowing obvious OSHA violations to go unremedied, or perhaps by failing in another area.
• Causation: The employee and / or their lawyer must prove that the personal injury In question was directly related to the employer’s failure to uphold their duty to the employee.
• Damages: Every lawsuit aims at recovering costs associated to damages, which are illnesses or injuries sustained, as well as less tangible items such as missed work and medical costs you had to pay out of pocket.

A law firm that specializes in employer negligence will easily determine whether these four elements exist, and if so, advise you whether it is wise to pursue a case in court.

Employer Negligence Duty of Care

What is an employer’s duty of care? It’s a question we hear often. There’s a lot to this issue but in a nutshell, employer duty of care is a legal requirement to take all possible steps to ensure that employees have a safe, healthy work environment.

Employers must abide by all health and safety codes. In addition, they are ethically bound to provide adequate training and to do everything they can to keep employees safe from bullying, discrimination, and harassment.

Many employer negligence cases occur when employers know that their actions or failure to act could result in employee injuries but disregard the risks and require employees to proceed anyway. In cases like these, the court may find wilful misconduct as well as negligence.

Employer Liability for Employee Negligence

The doctrine of vicarious liability holds employers liable for injuries one employee causes to another. This isn’t to say that an employee who perpetrates criminal actions against another can’t be held liable if criminal activity took place.

What it does mean is this:

When an employee who was acting on behalf of the employer caused injury to another employee, the employer can be held accountable, even if what happened was a complete accident.

• When one employee is carrying out directions or express orders from the employer and another employee suffers harm.
• When any employee is carrying out regular business activities during the normal scope of employment and other employee(s) are injured.
• When one employee acts with the implied or express authority of the employer, causing injury to another employee as a result.

For employer liability to be a consideration in a negligence case in which one employee injures another, the employee’s actions must be compelled by their job duties.

Employee Negligence Liable to Employer

Sometimes employees are held liable for negligence, even though employers are technically liable for every action, omission, and mistake their employees make.

To prove employee liability though, the employer must show that they took all reasonable steps to prevent the employee from taking the action that led to harm.

Joint liability cases can hold both employees and employers liable when negligence occurs, unless the employer can prove that the employee displayed misconduct or recklessness.

A lawyer who specializes in employer negligence can help you determine whether your personal injury has been caused by a failure on the part of your employer, whether another employee was involved or not.

By speaking with an attorney who is familiar with the ins and outs of the workers’ compensation system as well, you can determine how best to proceed toward recovering costs associated with your injury. If employer negligence was involved, your attorney will seek justice on your behalf.

The court may award a settlement in an employer negligence case when temporary or permanent disability results, or when medical treatment was required. Costs associated with job retraining are often covered in employer negligence settlements, as are considerations for pain and suffering.

When an employer does not consider the basic rights of the worker, negligence can occur and if this has happened to you, Select Justice can help you fight to hold your employer responsible for their actions.

Your employer has a responsibility to not only you, but to all of their employees. Making a claim against your employer will ensure you get the compensation you deserve and will also help ensure the safety of your colleagues.

To make a claim you need to speak with a legal professional specialized in employer negligence. Start today by filling out a free case review and we will connect you with expert legal counsel to assist you in your claim.

In addition to employer negligence, we educate people about equal pay discrimination. Read more about: California Equal Pay Act