When employees are injured while discharging their duties,their typical course of action is filing a workers’ compensation benefits claim. But there are many scenarios that offer a basis to drag the employer to court. Let’s understand what does suing for a work injury not covered by work comp could mean.
Workers’ Compensation System
Workers’ compensation offers benefits to injured employees irrespective of who caused the accident. Typically,the benefits are payment of hospital expenses (doctor visits,drug and physical therapy). Workers’ compensation could also cover vocational rehabilitation. Permanent or temporary partial/total disability benefits could offer wage replacement in case the worker cannot work anymore. Contrastingly,injured employees who prevail with a lawsuit could receive compensation for lost income,medical expenses,disfigurement,future medical treatment,pain and suffering,and loss of consortium.
In most cases,injured workers cannot sue their employer for an injury sustained at the workplace,according to -. By offering their employees workers’ compensation insurance,employers are typically safeguarded from their employees’ personal injury claims. The system was devised so that a worker will relinquish his right to sue his employer in court. However,there are quite a few exceptions to the rule that injured workers can’t sue their workers for workplace injuries.
For instance,if the employer intentionally caused harm via tortious acts,the worker may then sue. This includes cases such as the employee being battered by the employer or the employer imprisoning the employee on false charges.
In many states,an employer could be sued for grossly negligent acts that injured the employee,especially when a - gets involved in the legal proceedings. States recognizing such kind of claim liken it to intentional misconduct. Such claims could be due to the employer not offering proper protective tools,having bad safety mechanisms in place,imposing hazardous working condition,or putting the worker at risks that could be avoided or wasn’t necessary.