When Workers’ Compensation Waivers Are Invalid
Workers’ compensation offers a valuable safety net to protect workers and their families from the financial harm that can be done by a workplace injury. The workers’ compensation insurance carried by your employer is intended to cover the costs of medical treatment associated with your occupational injury or illness. It also at least partially addresses the income lost (usually at a rate of approximately 2/3 the average weekly wage for the preceding year) due to shifts missed for medical appointments and/or to allow for recovery.
In exchange for these benefits, workers are asked to sign a waiver that asserts that they are choosing to forgo pursuit of a legal action. Typically, this has been the accepted tradeoff and was deemed fair because it led to effectively guaranteed compensation that would be made available and paid much more quickly than any won through drawn out litigation. Yet there are circumstances under which an employee may have the opportunity to file a lawsuit seeking damages notably in excess of the benefits provided by the workers’ compensation policy in question. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney can help you to fully understand whether your case may qualify for exemption from such a waiver.
Two Cardinal Rules
Each workers’ compensation case is unique. The cause, extent, and circumstances of every occupational injury are different, so there is no way to issue a definitive accounting of whether you may be eligible to pursue a lawsuit. There are, however, two factors that can somewhat consistently nullify the effect of any workers’ compensation waiver that you sign, and it is highly valuable for you to carefully assess whether these may have been involved in your workplace accident. It may be possible to seek a legal action if the following are found:
Malice
Gross negligence
Malicious actions in the work environment either at the direction or under the supervision of an employer may provide grounds for a civil suit. This can come in the form of a physical assault by a manager or other employee, but most typically it would be sparked by reckless actions or behaviors that exhibit a disregard for safety instead of an intentional aggression. Gross negligence may be alleged when some element of the company’s procedures is so flawed that a reasonable person would anticipate that it would result in serious injury.
Choosing a Course
It is easy to feel that you have been wronged when you sustain a work-related injury, but there is no benefit to recklessly pursuing a legal action. However, if the circumstances of your case are such that a workers’ compensation waiver may be invalidated, then a lawsuit may be the best choice. To determine what is best, contact the Des Moines workers’ compensation lawyers of LaMarca & Landry, P.C.
By: Joseph Devine
About the Author:
In exchange for these benefits, workers are asked to sign a waiver that asserts that they are choosing to forgo pursuit of a legal action. Typically, this has been the accepted tradeoff and was deemed fair because it led to effectively guaranteed compensation that would be made available and paid much more quickly than any won through drawn out litigation. Yet there are circumstances under which an employee may have the opportunity to file a lawsuit seeking damages notably in excess of the benefits provided by the workers’ compensation policy in question. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney can help you to fully understand whether your case may qualify for exemption from such a waiver.
Two Cardinal Rules
Each workers’ compensation case is unique. The cause, extent, and circumstances of every occupational injury are different, so there is no way to issue a definitive accounting of whether you may be eligible to pursue a lawsuit. There are, however, two factors that can somewhat consistently nullify the effect of any workers’ compensation waiver that you sign, and it is highly valuable for you to carefully assess whether these may have been involved in your workplace accident. It may be possible to seek a legal action if the following are found:
Malice
Gross negligence
Malicious actions in the work environment either at the direction or under the supervision of an employer may provide grounds for a civil suit. This can come in the form of a physical assault by a manager or other employee, but most typically it would be sparked by reckless actions or behaviors that exhibit a disregard for safety instead of an intentional aggression. Gross negligence may be alleged when some element of the company’s procedures is so flawed that a reasonable person would anticipate that it would result in serious injury.
Choosing a Course
It is easy to feel that you have been wronged when you sustain a work-related injury, but there is no benefit to recklessly pursuing a legal action. However, if the circumstances of your case are such that a workers’ compensation waiver may be invalidated, then a lawsuit may be the best choice. To determine what is best, contact the Des Moines workers’ compensation lawyers of LaMarca & Landry, P.C.
By: Joseph Devine
About the Author:
Joseph Devine
workplace injury compensation
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