Have you ever been harmed at a business due to the carelessness of others? If you’ve answered “Yes!” to this question, you might be a victim of workplace negligence. This surprisingly common problem results in thousands of injuries each year.
Staying informed about all the legal aspects of negligence can help you get the compensation you deserve. Keep reading to find out everything you should know about negligence in the workplace.
What is Work Negligence?
Legally speaking, negligence occurs whenever a person or a business does not behave with the appropriate level of care. Someone is being negligent if they are not following regulations or behaving in a reasonably responsible way.
Typically, if you want to prove someone was negligent in court, you have to show that:
- The person had a responsibility;
- They did not fulfill that responsibility;
- They caused harm due to their lack of responsibility.
It’s important to understand what is negligence in a legal environment before accusing a business or manager of it. Negligence can occur in all types of situations. However, it counts as workplace negligence if an employee or customer at a business is harmed due to negligence. You can’t take action if nobody is hurt.
Examples of Workplace Negligence
There are all types of negligent practices in the workplace.
A business can be negligent if someone else is harmed due to:
- physical injury;
- mental trauma;
- loss of funds.
Typically, workplace negligence is divided into a few basic categories:
• Hiring: An employer can be negligent if they don’t do their due diligence before hiring an employee. Or if they do not fire an employee who behaves badly.
• Security: This type of negligence can occur when employee or client information or belongings are stolen. This is typically due to the business’s poor security practices.
• Training: A failure to train employees properly or supervise them properly during tasks. Improper training can lead to injuries for workers or customers.
• Premises: Someone is harmed due to a business not taking care of their building or equipment properly.
Is Work Negligence Illegal?
Negligence in the workplace is always bad, but it is not necessarily illegal. Typically, work negligence can be deemed illegal if there is something called criminal negligence involved. Criminal negligence usually leads to someone dying or a child being endangered.
For example, if an employer made an employee clean high-rise windows without safety equipment, they might face criminal charges if the employee fell and died. However, in cases where no one dies, negligence is normally not something that an employer can get arrested for.
Keep in mind that you can still seek legal help even when you cannot press criminal charges. In cases where the negligence is not criminal, you can still sue the person in a civil court. In cases when you want to sue somebody for work negligence you need evidence to prove:
– Duty: The person/business has a duty to make sure accidents don’t happen.
– Breach: Demonstrate that the accident occurred even with all safety precautions.
– Causation: The accident must cause some visible damage.
– Damages: There needs to be actual proof of damage.
What Can You Do About Work Negligence?
The main way of holding negligent employers responsible is by suing them in a civil lawsuit. You can ask for compensation to cover:
- medical bills;
- loss of employment;
- loss of earning potential;
- pain and suffering.
The court will then take a look at the case. If you can show that your employer did not reasonably attempt to follow regulations and fulfill basic responsibilities, you can win the lawsuit and receive money. If you suspect that you are a victim of workplace negligence, it is important to talk to a lawyer as soon as possible. They can help you determine if you have a case and let you know what type of information you should gather as proof.
