Question for Lawyers
I was at a hearing this afternoon and the judge asked each side "Does anyone want to invoke the rule?" I am pretty sure those were his words. My question is; what does this mean?
Keep the U.N. Out Of The United States of America!
Keep the U.N. Out Of The United States of America!
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No really.
This is a serious question.
Suppose a guy is on the clock. Working. He trips down the stairs and separates his shoulder. No oil. No tripping hazard. Just his own two feet caused this accident.
Is the employer responsible?
I should say?
Doe the employer bear some responsibility?
I realize each state is different.0 -
I wonder how many people sit down with a lawyer and when the question comes down to the question "HOW MUCH?" they are unable tocome up with a number.
How many people what to give the vague "as much as possible" but are to scared to give a value.
No, not necessary lawsuits. There's more than just lawsuits but I suspect many people cannot say the number they would "settle" for.0 -
I'll even say "Thank You" for the information before it's given to show in good faith that I am not too setup for lawyer bashing.
No alternative motives here. Just looking for some information.0 -
Wow, I was about to comment, upon seeing your post to your own question,
as how you have the mind of a lawyer.
They never ask a question to which they don't already know the answer.
"Is the employer responsible?" Yes, for hiring a moron.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Captplaid
No really.
This is a serious question.
Suppose a guy is on the clock. Working. He trips down the stairs and separates his shoulder. No oil. No tripping hazard. Just his own two feet caused this accident.
Is the employer responsible?
I should say?
Doe the employer bear some responsibility?
I realize each state is different.
I handled worker compensation claims for eight years in Colorado.
If you are on the clock and you are injured during the course of your employment, you are entitled to worker compensation benefits, regardless of fault.
Horseplay or injury outside the scope of employment were the only defenses.
For instance, let's say that you're a delivery person for your company. When you drive from Point A (your shop) to Point B (your delivery destination), you are covered under worker compensation. However, if during the course of driving from Point A to Point B, you take a side-trip to visit your buddy, you are no longer covered under worker compensation.
Does that make sense?0 -
Makes sense to me. In this instance the guy was going down the stairs. Tool belt on his shoulder. He tripped. The only other factor was it was 9:00. Break time. No disputing it happened at work. Company tells him they are not at fault. No unsafe conditions contributing to the fact. No unsafe act where proper training was necessary.
They claim Illinois has a law that says the company is not liable in such situations. Never heard of that one before.
Yes, the company has a third party handling their Workmans Comp claims.0 -
Its rare that the company will win one of these unless they can prove the employee was doing something that contributed to the accident.
Heck in CA a company can be liable if the employee is on the way to work or on the way home. Its usually about who has the big pockets to pay.
Some companies with big HR departments or contract companies that dispute all claims and fight them all will have a much beter experience rate.
Whether its charged to the WC or the employee medical insurance the company is going to pay. The WC experience rate is more immediate and affects monthly payments so they will fight harder to avoid a charge.0 -
I would assume they are as responsible as a homeowner who's house get's broken in to, guy is stealing a knife, falls and stabs himself and sues the homeowner.
Or someone who owns property, someone gets injured on their property and they sue. I would also think they carry liability insurance in case this happens.0 -
Captplaid:
quote:Originally posted by Captplaid
Makes sense to me. In this instance the guy was going down the stairs. Tool belt on his shoulder. He tripped. The only other factor was it was 9:00. Break time. No disputing it happened at work. Company tells him they are not at fault. No unsafe conditions contributing to the fact. No unsafe act where proper training was necessary.
They claim Illinois has a law that says the company is not liable in such situations. Never heard of that one before.
Yes, the company has a third party handling their Workmans Comp claims.
The company is not a fault, and would probably not be found negligent in a lawsuit. The employee was covered by Workman's Comp, and the company will get a hit on their multiplier.0 -
Does vary slightly from state to state- but the key is the Worker's Comp Act in that state. No issue of liability- issue is "In the course and scope of his employment". Some states bar payment of wages IF injury was direct result of intoxication, employee misconduct, etc. Other than that, injury is pretty much covered. Employer is a dunce if they attempt to refuse- the WC Act in most states bars them being sued by an employee, and in turn, employee gets protection of rights under the act. If they refuse to cover the claim, they lose that protection. There should be a Workers Comp poster on the company bulletin board. Do what it says on the poster. 0 -
My biggest case was one of the two exceptions to workers' comp in michigan - one is if there is no comp coverage, and the other, as in my case, was the intentional tort exception to comp. There are two kinds of intentional torts, a true intentional tort (i.e., puching someone, etc.), and the "faux" tort, where the employer has knowledge that injury was certain to occur, and willfully disregards that knowledge.
In my case, my client was being trained on using the overhead gantry crane to move coils of steel. Trainer told him he didn't have to adjust it to fit the coil. The Coil field was a mess. One worker testified that he offered to re=-arrange the coil field the weekend before the accident, and was refused. Another told the foreman that "he's going to get killed" if they insisted on teaching him the wrong way, and offered to teach him the right way. They refused.
Well, a coil fell from teh crane, knocked into the coil stacks (which were improperly stacked, not secured, and used wooden saddles, as opposed to the steel saddles that their own policies required them to use), and the stacks collapsed, causing thse huge coils to roll out of cotroll, and eventually crushed my client.0 -
well if on break meaning hes still on clock its workers comp, however someone may have said or know, if at lunch off clock then its not workers comp, but the store still holds up to the medical bills, if a company they have businesses insurance, same as home owners insurance. now that said state laws may differ, best bet is to check with lawyer, and tell him not to be afraid to go to one if hes worried about money most do a free first interview and some will take it for free unless you win.
More than likely the company is just trying to get out of paying.0 -
Thanks for the input. While I am not one that supports the abuse of the WC system, I also never heard of a company refusing to accept liability for an accident at work. I never heard of a state allowing an employer acknowledge no fault for an accident at work that did not involve alcohol or drugs. 0
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