Understanding Workplace Injury Law in California
An injury of any sort that occurs on a job site is referred to as a workplace injury. If you are injured at work in Sacramento or anywhere in California, normally your employer has workers’ compensation insurance. When this is the case, you are precluded from filing a claim of negligence against your employer. However, if the cause of someone’s on the job injury or workplace injury is a vendor, sub-contractor, temporary agency, or other entity, the law allows you to file a personal injury claim against the responsible “third party.” This claim can be based on a variety of causes of action, including negligence or product liability.
Most people believe that workplace injuries can only be compensated through a claim filed through workers’ compensation. However, an employee injured due to an employer’s grossly negligent conduct, such as a failure to comply with basic safety standards or the failure to hire employees who are properly trained, may also be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against his or her employer.
Employer Obligations Under California Law
According to the California Occupational Safety and Health Act, every employer in California has a legal obligation to provide and maintain a safe workplace for employees, including doing everything reasonably possible to provide a safe work environment. Workplace safety regulations extend to all workplace conditions, including construction sites, warehouses, and office buildings. Employers may not discipline an employee who complains about workplace safety conditions or refuses to work in an unsafe environment. Under the law, employees have the right to decide whether their work environment is a safe place to perform their duties.
Some of the most frequent safety violations cited by OSHA include inadequate safety guards on power presses, saws, conveyers, grinders, and milling machines that prevent fingers and arms from being pulled into machinery, failures to conduct lockout-tagout inspections which ensure machines remain off when conducting routine maintenance, failures to conduct regular equipment inspections, and inadequate training of new employees regarding the safe operation of machines.
The Impact of Workplace Injuries
Over 4 million people fall victim to a workplace injury in the United States each year. Workplace injuries occur to about 5 out of every 100 full-time employees. Construction workers run the highest risk of a fatal workplace injury. The State of California has the second highest number of workplace injuries resulting in death in the United States. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an alarming 10,000 workers suffer amputations every year, contributing to 6.5 percent of all amputations performed nationally.
Many workplace injuries require long-term medical care and can permanently alter your lifestyle, which is costly to the injured worker and their family for years to come. Those recovering from such injuries can expect to be faced with expensive hospital bills, lost wages, and rehabilitation costs.
Protecting Your Rights
If you are involved in a workplace or on the job injury, it is important to report your injury right away and seek medical care. If you have been injured on the job and the person who caused it did not work for your company, you may be able to file a case against that person. This may include the manufacturer of faulty equipment at a construction site or when one subcontractor’s negligent actions result in harm to another subcontractor on site.
Inadequate safety training, exposure to hazardous equipment, and general negligence can jeopardize your safety while on the job. When such negligence has led to any injury, an experienced Sacramento personal injury lawyer is needed. Contact a Sacramento workplace injury lawyer at Crow Law Offices for help navigating your case and securing the compensation you deserve.