Slip and Fall Injuries In the Workplace Are Employers Liable?

Slips, trips, and falls are some of the most common injuries that workers may have while on a work site. The National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) mentions that falls are the primary cause for workers to lose days from work due to injury. In many cases, employees think that they might be entitled to compensation for their injuries. If you visit a personal injury attorney in Clearwater to ask about slip and fall accidents at work, you may be pleasantly surprised about what the law has to say about liability for these cases. However, just because your injury happens within the workplace doesn't automatically entitle you to workers' compensation. In this article, we'll explore the circumstances surrounding a workers' compensation case and whether you may have a valid claim.

Establishing the Cause of Injury

Workers' compensation claims can be filed against employers for several reasons. However, as with all workers' compensation cases, you need to prove the employer's liability to merit the claim. The critical element in knowing if you have an application for workers comp is whether you were performing something work-related, and by doing so, you were injured. The employer is only liable if the action you were doing was directly related to the job.

There are other circumstances where the employer may have knowingly endangered an employee. This situation may arise if the employer actively caused the endangerment of the employee during a job. If there may have been a breach under OSHA guidelines, then the employer isn't at fault. There must have been a direct contradiction of the instructions for this charge to stick.

Third-Party Cases

There might be situations where you think your employer is liable to pay your workers compensation claim, but each situation will depend on the circumstances relating to the injury. If the damage came from being on the premises, and the employer doesn't own the building, you may have a third-party case against the building owner. A similar situation may occur if you are working on a private site and are injured due to existing debris on the site. These cases, while not strictly workers' compensation, may be attached to a compensation case.

Be Aware of Your Rights

As a worker, you might not be aware of the rights that you're afforded in your state. Usually, the best way to find out if you have a workers' compensation case is to consult a local lawyer. Falls are no small problem, and if you're still alive to bring a suit after your fall, you should count yourself lucky. The National Safety Council (NSC) mentions that 48,060 workers were severely injured in 2016, requiring time off work to recover. During this time, you may be entitled to money to help you deal with your regular expenses. Consult a lawyer today to determine if you're entitled to compensation from your employer and if any third-party suits may also be valid for your injury. It's not just about the money. It's a matter of principle. 

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