Understanding Personal Injury Law

Four Situations In Which You Can Sue Your Employer For Workplace Injury

13 June 2016

Celina Nichols

Workers' compensation insurance protects companies from getting sued by employees who get injured at work. However, the insurance doesn't offer a blanket protection for employer's liability since there are still situations where you may sue your employer if you are injured at work. Here are four examples of such situations:

Battery

Apart from pursuing a workers' compensation claim, you can also file a lawsuit against your employer if they beat you up or injure you in a fight. In fact, battery is also a crime, and winning the criminal case boosts your chances of winning the civil case. Employers are expected to provide a safe working environment for their employees. The employer who assaults or batters you goes directly against this expectation. Therefore, don't forget to pursue both claims if your employer shoves you onto a sharp object for talking back after getting late to work.

Product Liability

You can also sue your employer directly if they manufacture a defective product that ends up causing you injury. Consider an example where you work at a phone assembly plant. Suppose that you buy one of your company's phones, which ends up exploding in your pocket (while at work) and causing you severe burns. In this case, you can instigate a product liability claim against your employer.

Fraudulent Concealment

Fraudulent concealment refers to a situation where your employer deliberately hides an important risk that can cause injury from an employee. For example, an employer that knows asbestos was used to construct their premises, but hides this fact from their employees, is guilty of fraudulent concealment. It is fraud whether the employer acts as if the danger doesn't exist or actively lies to keep you in the dark. In such a case, you can pursue an injury case against the employer in addition to the workers' compensation claim.

Lack of Coverage or Inadequate Coverage

Finally, you can also sue your employer if you get injured on the job and it turns out your employer lacks workers' compensation insurance. This is also the case if your employer's coverage is below the state-mandated limits. Therefore, don't let your damages go uncompensated just because you have heard that your employer isn't adequately covered.

If you don't pursue a third-party claim against your employer, you may not receive full compensation for your damages. After all, workers' compensation doesn't compensate all damages. For example, it doesn't cover pain and suffering, but you can recover them via a third-party claim against the employer. For more information, contact a personal injury lawyer, like Dennis M. Walters, PC.

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