Differences Between Employee and Third-Party Accidents
06/23/08
The general rule is that so long as an employee is injured then the cause of the injury is irrelevant as to liability (workers compensation being almost a strict liability). The exception being intentional harm caused by the employer or injured caused the employee by reason of the employee’s intentional violation of a safety rule or on account of drug use. The later two events, which may act to either reduce or prohibit recovery by the employee of any recovery on account of the injury.
If on the other hand, the injured individual is not an employee, then third party liability exposure exists and fault is not going to be in essence “strict liability,” but instead will be fault based liability. In such cases, it is imperative that a construction site accident exposed party minimize its legal liability exposure. This should be done with a full and complete investigation, but an investigation that is maximizes protection from discovery from others.
See Are You Prepared For Accidents?; Developing Protocol For Accident Documentation; Preserving The Accident Site and Other Evidence; Selecting a Company Spokesperson and What Information to Divulge; Improving Workplace Safety Procedures During Litigation: Will It Hurt Your Case?
For more general information, visit Construction Law.
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