Boulder Colorado Personal Injury Attorney Explains When to Sue an Employer
Our workplace is not only a place where we make for a living but also a place where we spend most of our time. Every responsible employer should provide a safe workplace, security of workers, and compliance with safety regulations.
More about workplace safety find here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_safety_and_health.
Accidents at work occur when the employer doesn’t meet the stated conditions, but also because of the negligence of the workers. Situations when everything is done according to the rules, but the unfortunate situation still happens, are rare.
In situations where there are an obvious mistake and neglect of the employer, workers can file a claim and ask for compensation. Of course, in case they can prove allegations. To do this, their legal representative should introduce them with the meaning of the ‘workplace negligence,’ and explain options, solutions, and possible problems if they start the legal process against the employer.
Physical Injury at the Workplace
Workplace accidents occur, whether you work in an office or a production sector. Responsible employers must ensure that every part of the company respects minimum safety regulations and procedures to prevent potential accidents. If the employees suffer physical injuries, they got sick, or, in the worst case, die because of neglecting these rules, there is a basis for initiating a lawsuit against the employer.
When a worker or his family decides to seek compensation for damage and pain suffered, this situation can be resolved in two ways. The first is to reach an out-of-court settlement, which has many benefits if the parties have skilled lawyers (more about the advantages of this process read on this page). In this case, the employer provides coverage from the workers’ compensation fund.
But employees are generally not satisfied with the amount they get this way. But if they accept it, there’s no turning back and asking for more. This coverage is most often conditioned by a clause, by which the damaged employee renounces the right to sue the company.
If there are ways to find out the injustice of the employer, filing a claim is a better way to get what you should get by the law. The court, as a neutral party, will act according to the rules and decide the amount of compensation that is, in most cases, higher than the one offered by the insurance company. So when it comes to a workplace accident, the damaged party should ask for legal help before deciding which option is the best for their situation.
Emotional Distress
You probably heard of the legal term ‘pain and suffering.’ In case of injuries in the workplace, this item has a significant share in determining the amount of compensation. It should show how much physical damage affected the quality of your life, working abilities, social participation, financial recovery after the injury, etc. These are all psychic manifestations that occur after a workplace accident that prevents you go on with usual activities.
The expert doctor must diagnose and document them, as evidence to attach with the lawsuit. Without strong evidence of the impact of a workplace accident on the life of the injured worker, the court won’t consider this item. It is essential to know that out-of-the-court settlement doesn’t cover pain and suffering. So, if one thinks of asking for higher compensation, including emotional distress, a lawsuit is a better option.
Emotional Injury
Personal injuries occurring at work don’t always have to be physical. Sometimes the negligent action of an employer or colleague can leave the psychological consequences to workers. Any act that causes an embarrassment, humiliation, or fear can be considered as an emotional injury.
A personal injury lawyer in Boulder describes a common situation for highly-responsible professions when a worker finds himself in the ‘danger zone’ during the workplace accident; for example, a fall of a piece of high-altitude equipment. There were no physical consequences, but the employee suffered considerable fear. Anxiety to not repeat this situation manifests as emotional distress, as it disturbs a person in doing everyday activities, and thus affects his work performance, earnings, existence, and so on.
The right of every employee is to work in a safe and secure workplace. The violation of these laws is a crime against fundamental human rights, and human lives are endangered, directly or indirectly. Therefore, every action of negligence should be sanctioned by higher instances such as a personal injury attorney.