Generally speaking, businesses are responsible for providing and, of course, maintaining a safe working environment. That’s not to say that accidents don’t occur.
The debate of who is at fault entirely depends on the circumstances of the injury. An employee will rarely be deemed responsible, but it’s essential to know which situations of injury could result in a payout for you. Not only that, but awareness of your legal rights within the workplace can help you protect yourself against malpractice.
Take the time to learn where the employers’ responsibility ends and the employees’ begins below.
Fault and Liability
Any situation triggering a legal payout depends on who was at fault and who will claim liability. Someone would have to act in a negligent way and without sufficient care to be liable. Someone could also act intentionally, where they would need to take full liability for their fault.
In some cases, you can dispute a claim on your own, but there will also be situations where some professional advice could be of real benefit. Injury lawyers could help here.
Without any form of wrongful conduct, it would be difficult to discern who was at fault, and the injury on its own may not suffice. Essentially, if the company safeguarded an employee from the cause of injury, the case may not see a payout. Attorneys can help navigate this minefield of claims and counter-claims in determining fault.
Business Responsibility
As briefly discussed earlier, employers are responsible for keeping you safe. But to what extent?
Workplaces must follow the Major Laws of the Department of Labour. The law states that employers must conduct themselves in line with the set regulations. Businesses must remove recognized hazards and take a risk assessment of any danger that would be foreseeable in the workplace. They need to act upon the risk assessment and protect their employees.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administrationenforces these laws concerning workplace safety. They conduct routine visits and inspections, where investigators deem whether or not the organization is compliant.
Employee Responsibility
No single person is responsible for workplace health and safety. An employer is accountable for implementing safety measures, but the employee must follow them. This expectation on the latter is where we see employee responsibility.
Incidents where employees are at fault surround a failure to comply and follow procedures. For instance, suppose an employee failed to take the time to digest the new health and safety policy even though the company shared the correspondence correctly. An injury resulting from a lack of compliance will see the employee held liable for the injury.
You can find another example in a failure to report hazards. Workers are far more likely to spot possible hazards in their work routine. If they failed to submit a report, and it became known that the worker could have avoided the situation, employees could also find themselves liable for their injuries.
Conclusion
Every situation is unique, so take the time to document the incidents of the event carefully. The more detailed a case you have, whether employer or employee, the more likely you’ll find success with your case.
