You don’t need to prove employer negligence in order to file a workers’ compensation claim, but if negligence exists, you may be able to pursue additional compensation. Your employer is legally required to provide a safe working environment for its employees, and when they fail to do so, they can be hit with a negligence suit. But how can you prove that your employer’s actions or lack of actions directly contributed to your injuries? We explain how to help prove employer negligence in today’s blog.
Proving Employer Negligence
For starters, the best thing you can do for yourself if you are going to pursue an employer negligence suit on top of your workers’ compensation claim is to contact an injury lawyer. You’re going to want an ally in your corner, especially because your employer is going to have professional legal assistance on their side. Not only can having a lawyer help take some confusion out of the equation, but they can also ensure you put forth your strongest case, which can in turn increase your potential award amount.
So now that you’ve hired a lawyer, there are three main ways that you can help prove that your employer was negligent in their duty to protect their employees. The most common employer negligence suits involve proving:
1. Employer Failed To Provide Adequate Training – Employers obviously want to hire individuals who have similar working experience, but just because they’ve worked in a factory in the past doesn’t mean that they can skip the training seminar. Every employee needs to undergo adequate safety training, and although the training program is somewhat dictated by the employer, if the employee believes their injury occur because they were not adequately trained to perform the duties that led to their injury, they can pursue a negligence case.
2. Employer Failed To Follow Safety Regulations – The Occupational Health and Safety Administration has thousands of rules, regulations and codes that need to be followed. These regulations have been put in place to help protect employees. For example, safety rails must be installed for walkways above a certain height, and machinery needs to be serviced at regular intervals to ensure they are working properly. If your machine is supposed to be serviced every two years, but it hasn’t been checked in six years, if it malfunctions and causes injury, you have the right to pursue an employer negligence claim. If they were violating OSHA regulations and it led to your injury, you’ll have the opportunity to file both a workers’ compensation and employer negligence lawsuit.
3. Failure To Provide Safety Gear – Some jobs require that employees wear certain gear during their job. Gloves, hats and safety glasses are typically purchased by the employee, but more heavy duty equipment, like harnesses or radiation jackets are usually provided by the employer. If your employer fails to provide you with the necessary safety equipment, the equipment is defective, or they allow an employee to perform work duties even though they aren’t wearing the required equipment, the employer would be on the hook for a negligence suit.
These aren’t the only ways you can prove employer negligence, but they are the most common types of negligence suits we handle. For more information, or for help with your workers’ compensation or employer negligence lawsuit, reach out to Margolis Law Firm today.
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