What You Need to Know About Suing an Employer for Gross Negligence
Gross negligence lawsuits against an employer can be complicated and are often solved on a case-by-case basis. Here’s what you need to know about suing an employer for gross negligence.
It can be difficult to sue for gross negligence, especially if an injured employee receives workers’ compensation insurance. This makes gross negligence lawsuits especially rare. There are, however, steps that employees can take to build a gross negligence case against an employer.
What is Gross Negligence?
There are three general levels of negligence: slight, gross, and reckless. Gross negligence falls between slight and reckless negligence and can be defined as knowingly acting with an extreme lack of care for the safety of others. Gross negligence is more severe than a slight carelessness and includes a disregard for potential consequences or injury. With gross negligence, harm is easily foreseeable.
Examples of Gross Negligence of an Employer:
- A construction site does not provide safety equipment to workers, resulting in an injury
- An employer fails to train an employee working on heavy machinery, resulting in injuries
- An employer removes safety features on a machine, resulting in injuries
Workers’ Compensation
Most employers in the U.S. are required to provide workers’ compensation for their employees. Workers’ compensation exists to compensate injured or harmed employees without including the court system. The workers’ compensation system asserts that employees generally may not sue their employers for negligence. Even so, there are exceptions to this rule, one of them occasionally being cases of gross negligence. It is always important to check if an employer uses workers’ compensation and to consult with a licensed attorney before taking steps to sue employers for gross negligence claims.
Related: Can I Sue My Employer For Lying?
If an employee is unable to sue their employer for gross negligence due to workers’ compensation regulations, it may be worthwhile to see if they are eligible to file a third-party suit instead. Employers often hire equipment, workers, or workspace from other parties that are not covered by workers’ compensation guidelines. If the injury is caused by gross negligence on the part of the third party, the employee may be entitled to compensation. Injured employees should consult with a licensed professional before taking legal action, however, as third-party suits may not be the best avenue of action.
Steps to Prove Gross Negligence
Proving gross negligence when suing involves four main steps:
- Proving that the employer owed the employee a duty of care
- Proving that this duty of care was breached or ignored by the employer
- Proving that the victim was injured
- Proving that this injury was caused by the employer’s breach of duty of care
While these steps seem simple, each step can be lengthy to prove. Proving injury, for example, will likely require records of a medical visit and a doctor’s notes or observations. Furthermore, it can be difficult to prove that the employer’s specific actions or lack thereof resulted in the employee’s injury without a straightforward cause-and-effect. Gross negligence lawsuits often involve employers’ intention to inflict harm, which can also be challenging to prove.
What You Can Do to Help Your Case
There are multiple actions employees can take when preparing to sue their employer for gross negligence. These steps can help build the employee’s case:
- Create a timeline of events leading up to, during, and following the incident.
- Request and keep medical records and expenses associated with the injury or harm.
- If the harm inflicted is emotional, request and keep records of visits to professional help.
- Collect documents that could prove employers’ duty of care and negligence. This can include emails, company guidelines, employee handbooks, or employee contracts.
- Write down witness statements.
- Consult an experienced attorney.
Related: Can an Employer Sue an Employee For Quitting?
Benefits You Might Be Entitled To
Upon winning a gross negligence suit, harmed employees may be entitled to compensation for medical costs or other costs they suffered. They may also be entitled to compensation for pain, suffering, or emotional damages that were caused by the employer’s gross negligence. The benefits that a harmed employee receives is often determined on a case-by-case basis.
Employers found guilty of gross negligence may be required to pay further punitive damages or enforce updated training, inspections, and workplace practices to ensure the incident does not repeat itself.
FAQs About Suing an Employer for Gross Negligence
How do I know if the negligence inflicted is “gross”?
Gross negligence pertains to a middle ground between slight and reckless negligence. If the negligence inflicted is more significant than a simple mistake and harm is easily foreseeable, but the employer was not acting with severe malicious intent, it is likely that the negligence inflicted is considered gross.
How easy is it for injured employees to win a gross negligence lawsuit?
It is difficult to prove gross negligence for a series of reasons: Workers’ Compensation regulations may prevent employees from filing a lawsuit altogether, the incident may not have been followed by a documented medical visit, and it is difficult to demonstrate that the injury was caused by an employers’ negligence. This makes successful gross negligence lawsuits uncommon. It is important to consult with an attorney before filing a lawsuit against an employer for gross negligence to ensure that the case has the best chance of success.
How long does it take to sue an employer for gross negligence?
Lawsuits for gross negligence typically take months or even years to finish.
Can I still sue for gross negligence if I have workers’ compensation?
Employees typically cannot sue their employers for negligence if they receive workers’ compensation. There have, however, been exceptions for gross negligence. It is helpful to consult with an attorney to determine if an injured employee may take legal action.
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