The Role of Negligence and Proving Fault in Workers Compensation Cases
Workers Comp Benefits are Available Even if You Caused the Accident or Cannot Prove Your Employer’s Negligence is to Blame
Negligence causes many work injuries.
Sometimes it’s your negligence. Other times it’s the negligence of a co-worker, employer, or a third-party such as another driver or a manufacturer that is to blame.
Many employees believe that you cannot file a workers comp claim if the occupational accident was their fault – often because the employer or claim adjuster told them so. But that’s not true in most cases.
This article explains that you may be entitled to workers compensation benefits regardless of who was at fault for the work injury. Yes – it’s possible for you to receive lifetime medical coverage and weekly workers comp payments if you’re to blame for the work injury or if you did not cause the accident, but your employer did nothing wrong.
If you have questions about workers compensation law or want a free consultation with a top-rated work injury attorney, call me: (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614. I’ve helped hundreds of injured employees negotiate fair workers compensation settlements – even when they were at fault – and I want to get the best result for you.
What is the Definition of Negligence in a Workers Compensation Claim?
The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines negligence as “the failure to meet a standard of behavior established to protect society against unreasonable risk.”
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary uses a similar definition of negligence, stating that it is the “failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances.”
Put another way – a person is negligent when they fail to act reasonably to keep themselves and others from getting hurt.
Workers compensation uses this definition of negligence, which is the one that the civil court system uses in personal injury actions arising from car accidents.
Examples of Employee Negligence Seen in Workers Comp Cases
Here is a list of actions and errors that often result in work injuries and could be considered negligence:
- You run a stop sign or fail to stop at a red light while driving for work, causing a work-related motor vehicle accident.
- You forget to wear your safety goggles while welding, and a foreign object flies into your eye.
- Your safety helmet (“hard hat”) is too loose and doesn’t protect you when an item falls from above and strikes you, resulting in a head injury and concussion.
- Your employer asks you to work overtime for ten straight days. The next day you are tired and fall asleep while driving a tractor-trailer, suffering a hip fracture.
- A co-worker doesn’t pay attention while operating a forklift, and part of the machine hits your shoulder, resulting in a torn rotator cuff.
- A co-worker spills chemicals, causing you to suffer burns.
- While you and a co-worker are moving heavy furniture, your co-worker drops his side of the item, causing you to suffer neck and back injuries.
- A supervisor comes to work under the influence of alcohol and assaults you because he thinks you are moving too slowly.
Examples of Employer Negligence Seen in Workers Comp Cases
Some employers comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) rules and regulations, which are meant to protect workers from injury. But other employers take short cuts and put their employees at greater risk of harm – all to save money.
Here are some examples of employer negligence that can result in job-related injuries:
- You are a nurse whose employer asks you to treat patients with COVID-19 and other infectious diseases without the correct personal protective equipment (PPE).
- Your employer asks you to work at heights without providing the proper safety equipment.
- Your employer is aware that a ladder or machine you use regularly is broken but fails to fix it.
- Your employer asks you to lift heavy objects without providing additional help or equipment that would make it easier to move the items.
- Your employer does not regularly clean up your work environment, resulting in a trip and fall or slip and fall accident.
- Your employer fails to properly train all new employees, resulting in a co-worker losing control of machinery and causing you harm.
Examples of Third-Party Negligence Seen in Workers Comp Cases
The term “third-party” refers to any person or business other than the two persons involved in a legal dispute.
In workers’ comp, a third-party is a person or business unrelated to the injured worker or employer with interest in the case. Usually, it is a person or company responsible for your injuries.
Here are some examples of third-party negligence that can result in a work injury:
- A business purchases a product from a manufacturer, not knowing that it is defective. The machine then malfunctions, causing you to suffer an injury. Claims involving defective machinery often result in catastrophic injuries such as spinal cord trauma and amputations, and even death.
- Another driver is speeding and runs into your vehicle while you are stopped, causing a herniated disc resulting in the need for spinal fusion and traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Workers Compensation is a No-Fault System – Negligence Doesn’t Matter.
In a personal injury claim or a medical malpractice action brought under tort law, you must prove that someone else acted negligently and that this negligence caused you damage.
Tort law is an “at-fault” system. You can only recover money if you prove that someone else is liable for your injuries. This is why personal injury lawyers spend so much time proving that the other driver was at fault in motor vehicle collision cases – and why you purchase auto liability insurance
But negligence and fault play a limited role in workers comp – and often no role at all.
State workers compensation systems are based on the understanding that industrial accidents will happen in the modern economy and compromise. They are intended to provide medical treatment and financial security to as many injured workers as possible, as efficiently and quickly as possible.
Expanded coverage of injured workers is accomplished by limiting the workers comp discovery process and eliminating many of the common law defenses available in negligence claims: contributory negligence, the “fellow servant” rule, and the “assumption of risk doctrine.”
Under the doctrine of contributory negligence, the employer owed no compensation if the worker was in any part responsible for the injury. Even if the employer were 99% at fault, the worker would receive nothing if he was 1% liable.
The contributory negligence doctrine led to absurd results in some cases. For example, a worker who suffered an injury because he slipped and fell could be denied compensation because they slipped.
Under the fellow servant rule, employers were not liable for a worker’s injuries if a co-worker made a mistake and caused the accident. This rule excluded many work accidents and injuries. A worker could sue their co-worker, but then there would be difficulty collecting a judgment, making it worthless.
The assumption of risk doctrine was also brutal to injured workers. Under the doctrine, an injured employee was barred from receiving compensation for the injury if he had signed a contract acknowledging that his employment carried certain risks. These contracts became known as “death contracts.”
These defenses were not the only obstacles for employees under the common law.
Injured workers had to pay filing fees, which many could not afford.
They also had to wait for months or even years for their case to wind through the court. Few employees had the means to try to get compensation or to wait to get a resolution. The goal of speeding up the resolution of claims is one reason your case can be is one reason your application can be decided by the entry of a Workers Compensation Award Letter or an administrative hearing before the Workers Compensation Commission.
In exchange for giving up these defenses and reducing negligence’s role in workers comp, employers do not have lower litigation costs. They also do not have to worry about paying for pain and suffering or large jury verdicts in civil court to bankrupt the business.
Exceptions to General Rule: When Fault and Misconduct May Disqualify You from Receiving Workers Compensation
Though workers comp favors covering employees injured on the job, there are limited circumstances where an injured worker cannot receive benefits.
For example, you cannot receive workers comp payments or medical coverage if your injury was:
- Self-inflicted (intentional)
- Caused by your intoxication or the unlawful use of drugs
- Caused by the violation of a known safety rule that was regularly enforced by your employer
- Caused by the intentional and willful violation of a law or statute
In other words, when your action is willful and not the result of inattentiveness, mistake, forgetfulness, or negligence, you may be barred from receiving benefits under the Workers Compensation Act.
Should I File a Workers Compensation Claim if I Violated a Safety Rule or Statute?
Usually – particularly if you didn’t intend to violate the rule or statute.
Your employer may still be responsible for workers comp payments even if you violated a safety rule or law.
For example, the law says you must wear a seatbelt when you are the driver of a vehicle or a passenger. If you were hurt in a car crash, your injury might be covered even though you were not wearing a seat belt if the evidence shows you would have suffered the injuries even if you were wearing a seat belt. Usually, this will require a statement from your workers comp doctor.
Another situation where you may be able to receive workers comp benefits despite making a mistake involves the safety rule violation defense.
If the safety rule is too ambiguous or vague or not enforced regularly, or if emergency circumstances justify your decision to violate it or you did not intend to infringe it, your claim may be covered.
Similarly, you can overcome the safety rule defense if your violation was not the cause of the accident and injuries.
Finally, a positive drug test does not bar you from receiving workers comp automatically. Only if the drug caused the accident will you forfeit workers comp. However, you may have to deal with the termination for justified cause defense if your employer fires you because of the positive drug test, and you’re released to light duty.
I recommend calling a workers comp attorney to discuss your legal rights – even if you received a summons, traffic ticket, or citation because of the work accident.
Should I File a Workers Compensation Claim if Someone Else’s Negligence Caused My Injury?
Yes.
By now, you know that you should file a workers comp claim even if your mistake or negligence caused the job-related accident and injury.
You should also file a claim if someone else’s negligence is to blame.
If you’ve been hurt at work and believe it was due to your employer’s negligence, a co-worker, or a third-party, you should still report your accident to the employer, seek medical treatment, and file a claim.
If a third party is responsible for your injuries, you can pursue an insurance claim or lawsuit against that party while also pursuing your workers comp claim. Just be aware of the workers comp lien against any judgment or settlement resulting from the third-party claim.
Can I Recover More Money if I Prove My Employer’s Negligence Caused My Work Injury?
No, proving your employer’s negligence caused the work accident does not affect the type or amount of benefits you recover.
Workers compensation benefits are set forth by statute.
When deciding what you’re entitled to, the Workers Compensation Commission will not consider negligence. This is why your attorney will not focus on the employer’s failure to provide a safe workplace unless the employer alleges your willful misconduct is the cause of the injury.
Workers Comp Claims are Complicated. Get Help if from a Top-Rated Attorney if Negligence or Fault is in Dispute
If you believe that someone else’s negligence caused your accident, or if the insurer is denying your workers comp claim based on an allegation of willful misconduct, call me: (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614. See how I’ve helped injured workers in Virginia pursue all legal options available, including Social Security Disability benefits.
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