Two Means of Providing Compensation and Rehabilitation:
Recovery from the Employer based on Negligence Law
System of Worker's Compensation
EMPLOYEE NEGLIGENCE SUITS:
Employees may sue their employers for injuries sustained on the job
Employees win their negligence suits if they prove in court that the employer's negligence cause their injury. (law encouraged employers to protect employees)
Negligence law imposed on employers the general duty to provide reasonably safe working conditions for employees.
Duty May Be Violated:
Employer might fail to provide a safe work space, tool or machinery
Insufficient number of co-workers to do a job safely
Employees given inadequate safety instructions
What Happens Next:
When the employers violates the duty to provide safe working conditions and this cause injuries to workers, the employee has ground to recover for her or his injuries
Difficulties for Employee in Negligence Suits: Common Law Defenses:
The employee had assumed the risk involved (person is aware of the danger that could cause injury but voluntarily remains in the dangerous situation.) - (Steel worker removes required and provided hat and a large bolt strikes head)
The employee was negligent -Contributory negligence- employee did something that contributed to her or his injury or death- (removed the helmet)
Co-worker negligence- a co-worker is the cause of the injury- employer could show that a co-worker caused the bolt to fall
If an employee did win-the existence of the business was threatened
Property Damage Emily Anne Maclean worked in a farmer’s market. On August 1, 2003, she placed eggs on a hot plate to boil in order to make them ready for the next day’s sandwiches. She got distracted in another part of the store. Upon smelling smoke, she returned to the hot plate only to find “full blown flames”. The farmer's market was destroyed and Ms. MacLean was sued in negligence by the market’s insurer. In dismissing this claim, the Court concluded:
employees are not generally held liable for ordinary negligence or carelessness in the performance of their duties;
the imposition of liability in such a case would be unjust and/or unfair;
an employer accepts the risk of employee fallibility and takes that into account in the costs of doing business, supervising the employee and insuring the enterprise.
Accordingly, although it is clearly reasonable for an employer to expect its employees to exercise reasonable care in the performance of their duties, it will only be where the degree of fault by the employee goes beyond mere negligence, that a claim for damages will have any chance of success. The inability to recover damages in negligence does not preclude the employer from alleging cause for dismissal in an appropriate case.
The Compromise of Worker's Compensation: (1890-1910)
Imposed limits on the amounts that injured employees could receive for their injuries-minimized potentially ruinous lawsuits - workers' compensation statues
Statutes require most employers to obtain insurance to pay benefits to injured employees-the benefits are paid without regard to fault
The insurance pays even when the employer in not a cause of the injury
THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION SYSTEM WAS CREATED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR NEGLIGENCE SUITS
Recovering in Lieu of Workers' Compensation:
As a rule: An employee cannot sue the employer for on the job injuries if the employee is covered by workers' compensationEXCEPTIONS: an injured employee (or the family of an employee who is killed on the jog) can still sue the employer for negligence.
If employer fails to provide workers' compensation insurance
If employee coverage is not required
If the injury is not covered by workers' compensation
Employee commits an intentional tort (usually criminal)
REVIEW: The Three Common Law Defenses Utilized by Employers against Negligence Cases by Employees
Assumption of Risk
Contributory Negligence
Co-Worker Negligence
HOW DOES THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION SYSTEMWORK? Determination Made as to Whether Injured Employeeis Covered-employees are protected by workers' compensation insurance they are injured by accident or disease , including job-related stress, in the scope of employment and from the risks of that employment Scope of Employment- To recover from workers compensation, the injured employee must have been acting within the scope of employment at the time of the injury (acting for the benefit of the employer) EXAMPLE: An Auto Accident while driving to and from work usually would NOT be within the scope of employment- BUT doing an errand for the employer on the way home from work is likely to be within the scope of employment Risks of Employment:There risks associated with jobs and there are the risks that workers' compensation generally covers- Working at UPS lifting heavy packages- sustain a hernia- covered Working behind a desk as a programmer, bend over to pick up a paper and sustain a hernia- might not be covered- Might not be caused by the job but a weak abdominal muscles Excluded Employers: Not all Workers are required to be covered by a plan of workers's compensation-Vary state by state. Often include workers for companies with too few employees, causal workers, independent contractors, domestic workers, agricultural workers, and those covered by other systems. Workers for Companies Not Required to Carry Workers' Compensation Insurance:Minority of states do not require companies with very few employees to provide workers' compensation insurance- Some employers are so large that they are allowed to be self-insuring.
Casual Workers- do not need to be covered those who do not work regularly for one employer
Independent Contractors- Need not be covered-someone hired to accomplish a task, but who is not supervised while doing so (EXAMPLE- dry cleaner hires an outside company to fix the steam mechanism on its dry cleaning system
Those covered by Other Systems- employees of airlines, railroads and trucking firms, and other common carries engage in interstate commerce are governed by special federal laws. Long shore an harbor workers also operate under a different federal law and are not subject to state workers' compensation laws A SPECIAL STATUE ALSO GOVERNS THE CREWS ON SEAGOING VESSELS
THE DETERMINATION OF BENEFITS If a worker is covered by workers' compensation and is injured because of the job, the worker becomes entitled to benefits.
Lump-sum payment-covers pain and suffering involved with injuries such as loss of hand, or loss of life- all medical expenses a re usually covered and will pay a percentage of lost wages- usually 80%---Usually the payment is less than if the injured party had won a negligence suit
Vocational Rehabilitation- training for another type of job
OFTEN THE AMOUNT of the benefits is increases if the employer is grossly negligent or REDUCED if the employee is nominally negligent- a 10% increase or deduction is typical
The Award Hearing-The decision about whether a person is entitle to benefits and the amounts of those benefits are made at a hearing conducted by by a state administrative agency-WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD of the INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT COMMISSION
Paying for the Insurance Benefits are paid from on of three sources:
Workers' Compensation Insurance Policy from a Private Insurance Company
Participate in a State Administered Workers' Compensation Fund
Be Self Insured
Review- Employees Generally Excluded for the Coverage of a Workers' Compensation System
Employer's Liability for Work-Related Injuries:
Two Means of Providing Compensation and Rehabilitation:
Recovery from the Employer based on Negligence Law
System of Worker's Compensation
EMPLOYEE NEGLIGENCE SUITS:
- Employees may sue their employers for injuries sustained on the job
- Employees win their negligence suits if they prove in court that the employer's negligence cause their injury. (law encouraged employers to protect employees)
- Negligence law imposed on employers the general duty to provide reasonably safe working conditions for employees.
Duty May Be Violated:- Employer might fail to provide a safe work space, tool or machinery
- Insufficient number of co-workers to do a job safely
- Employees given inadequate safety instructions
What Happens Next:Difficulties for Employee in Negligence Suits:
Common Law Defenses:
The employee had assumed the risk involved (person is aware of the danger that could cause injury but voluntarily remains in the dangerous situation.) - (Steel worker removes required and provided hat and a large bolt strikes head)
The employee was negligent -Contributory negligence- employee did something that contributed to her or his injury or death- (removed the helmet)
Co-worker negligence- a co-worker is the cause of the injury- employer could show that a co-worker caused the bolt to fall
If an employee did win-the existence of the business was threatened
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSQ21H1wbdYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSQ21H1wbdY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLd1s7IUxco
Property Damage
Emily Anne Maclean worked in a farmer’s market. On August 1, 2003, she placed eggs on a hot plate to boil in order to make them ready for the next day’s sandwiches. She got distracted in another part of the store. Upon smelling smoke, she returned to the hot plate only to find “full blown flames”. The farmer's market was destroyed and Ms. MacLean was sued in negligence by the market’s insurer. In dismissing this claim, the Court concluded:
- employees are not generally held liable for ordinary negligence or carelessness in the performance of their duties;
- the imposition of liability in such a case would be unjust and/or unfair;
- an employer accepts the risk of employee fallibility and takes that into account in the costs of doing business, supervising the employee and insuring the enterprise.
Accordingly, although it is clearly reasonable for an employer to expect its employees to exercise reasonable care in the performance of their duties, it will only be where the degree of fault by the employee goes beyond mere negligence, that a claim for damages will have any chance of success.The inability to recover damages in negligence does not preclude the employer from alleging cause for dismissal in an appropriate case.
The Compromise of Worker's Compensation: (1890-1910)
- Imposed limits on the amounts that injured employees could receive for their injuries-minimized potentially ruinous lawsuits - workers' compensation statues
- Statutes require most employers to obtain insurance to pay benefits to injured employees-the benefits are paid without regard to fault
- The insurance pays even when the employer in not a cause of the injury
THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION SYSTEM WAS CREATED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR NEGLIGENCE SUITSRecovering in Lieu of Workers' Compensation:
REVIEW: The Three Common Law Defenses Utilized by Employers against Negligence Cases by Employees
- Assumption of Risk
- Contributory Negligence
- Co-Worker Negligence
HOW DOES THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION SYSTEM WORK?Determination Made as to Whether Injured Employee is Covered- employees are protected by workers' compensation insurance they are injured by accident or disease , including job-related stress, in the scope of employment and from the risks of that employment
Scope of Employment- To recover from workers compensation, the injured employee must have been acting within the scope of employment at the time of the injury (acting for the benefit of the employer) EXAMPLE: An Auto Accident while driving to and from work usually would NOT be within the scope of employment- BUT doing an errand for the employer on the way home from work is likely to be within the scope of employment
Risks of Employment: There risks associated with jobs and there are the risks that workers' compensation generally covers-
Working at UPS lifting heavy packages- sustain a hernia- covered
Working behind a desk as a programmer, bend over to pick up a paper and sustain a hernia- might not be covered- Might not be caused by the job but a weak abdominal muscles
Excluded Employers: Not all Workers are required to be covered by a plan of workers's compensation-Vary state by state. Often include workers for companies with too few employees, causal workers, independent contractors, domestic workers, agricultural workers, and those covered by other systems.
Workers for Companies Not Required to Carry Workers' Compensation Insurance: Minority of states do not require companies with very few employees to provide workers' compensation insurance- Some employers are so large that they are allowed to be self-insuring.
- Casual Workers- do not need to be covered those who do not work regularly for one employer
- Independent Contractors- Need not be covered-someone hired to accomplish a task, but who is not supervised while doing so (EXAMPLE- dry cleaner hires an outside company to fix the steam mechanism on its dry cleaning system
- Those covered by Other Systems- employees of airlines, railroads and trucking firms, and other common carries engage in interstate commerce are governed by special federal laws. Long shore an harbor workers also operate under a different federal law and are not subject to state workers' compensation laws A SPECIAL STATUE ALSO GOVERNS THE CREWS ON SEAGOING VESSELS
THE DETERMINATION OF BENEFITSIf a worker is covered by workers' compensation and is injured because of the job, the worker becomes entitled to benefits.
- Lump-sum payment-covers pain and suffering involved with injuries such as loss of hand, or loss of life- all medical expenses a re usually covered and will pay a percentage of lost wages- usually 80%---Usually the payment is less than if the injured party had won a negligence suit
- Vocational Rehabilitation- training for another type of job
OFTEN THE AMOUNT of the benefits is increases if the employer is grossly negligent or REDUCED if the employee is nominally negligent- a 10% increase or deduction is typicalPaying for the Insurance
Benefits are paid from on of three sources:
Review- Employees Generally Excluded for the Coverage of a Workers' Compensation System