If you get hurt on the job, it’s important for you to know your legal options. Whether you slip and fall, experience an accident on a plant floor, or have an accident on a delivery route, your employer could be held liable. Employers pay into the workers’ compensation system, and you can claim workers’ compensation for your work-related injury.
Safe workplace expectations
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards for different industries help ensure a safe workplace. There are standards for hazardous worksites, machinery operation, routine safety issues, such as trip and fall hazards, and many others. OSHA also promotes training and education to prevent injuries.
If you are injured or harmed in the workplace, you have a right to compensation. Look for “attorneys near me” online at USAttorneys.com, where you will find qualified and experienced lawyers who can handle cases like this all the time.
Employer liability
Employers are seen as directing the behavior of the employees, and accordingly, they must share in the results of that behavior. Just as employers benefit from the rewards of an employee’s labor, they have legal liability if that employee suffers harm doing the job. Employees have the right to file a workers’ compensation claim, and employers must provide them with a form to file a claim if they request it.
The ‘respondeat superior’ rule applies only if the employee is acting within the course of the scope of employment. Its purpose is to hold employers responsible for the costs of doing business, even when employees are careless.
There’s a difference when an employee is involved in an accident doing a job unrelated to his or her employment. It is only when an accident happens while doing a job for the employer that the employer can be held liable.
A ‘frolic’ and a ‘detour’
A ‘frolic’ is when an employee is not acting on the instructions of an employee but acting in his or her own capacity. If an employee acts independently or out of personal motives, the employer might not be liable. If a salesperson uses the company car to go out to a bar at night and hits a pedestrian on the way home, the employer is unlikely to be held responsible.
A ‘detour’ is when an employee deviates from the employer’s original instructions, but the actions are still job-related. In this case, the employer may still be held liable. This may be the case when the company encourages its sales personnel to take clients out for eats and drinks, and the person takes them out one night in the company car and hits a pedestrian on the way home.
When workers’ compensation benefits are precluded
Some states preclude workers’ compensation benefits in the following circumstances:
Intoxication: Being under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of injury may result in receiving reduced benefits or being barred from receiving benefits. If your employer proves that you were intoxicated at the time of the accident, you have the burden to prove that intoxication didn’t contribute to the accident.
Intentional injury: If you intentionally injure yourself, you may receive reduced benefits or be barred from receiving benefits. If a self-inflicted injury is the result of work-related stress or injury, you may still receive benefits.
Violation of company safety policies: If you are injured as a result of violating a company safety policy, you may receive reduced benefits or be barred from receiving benefits. This may be the case if your employer requires you to wear a safety helmet and you are injured because you didn’t wear it.