Workers' Compensation Information
Workers' Compensation Information
New York Exceptions to the Exclusive Remedy of Workers' Compensation
Workers' compensation is designed to be the exclusive legal remedy for an employee injured, sickened or killed in the line of his or her employment. From a policy standpoint, employees give up the right to bring lawsuits against employers in exchange for certain, albeit relatively modest, compensation. Employers give up the defenses they would otherwise be able to assert in court and take on the cost of workers' compensation coverage, in exchange for immunity from suit and elimination of the threat of excessive damage awards. Here we will explore a few narrow exceptions where workers may be able to bring lawsuits outside the workers' compensation system for work-related harm.
If you or a loved one has been injured at work, contracted an industrial disease or suffered an employment-related death, an experienced workers' compensation attorney at Ouimette, Goldstein & Andrews, LLP in Poughkeepsie, New york, can advise you of your workers' compensation rights, as well as of other legal remedies you may have for the harm.
Intentional Harm
Workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy for work-related injury even where the employer's negligence or recklessness may have caused the damage. However, workers' compensation does not prevent the injured employee from suing his or her employer for damages in court if the employer intentionally harmed the employee.
In New York, a claimant may sue his or her employer if it interferes with the employee's workers' compensation rights or deprives him or her of workers' compensation benefits. In addition, a complaint may be filed with the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) if an employer terminates or otherwise discriminates against an employee for either pursuing a workers' compensation claim or for giving testimony in any workers' compensation proceeding.
Uninsured Employers
When an employer is required by law to carry workers' compensation coverage, but fails to do so and an employee is injured, diseased or killed in a work-related incident, New York law allows the worker either to claim his or her workers' compensation award or to bring a lawsuit directly against the uninsured employer.
Co-Workers
Under New York law, workers' compensation is still the exclusive remedy in a situation where a co-employee may have negligently caused harm to another worker. But if a person deliberately harms a co-worker, he or she may sue the aggressor directly in court for the damage inflicted, including for pain and suffering, which is not available through workers' compensation. If the injured worker wins the lawsuit, the employer or its insurer may be eligible for reimbursement for workers' compensation already paid for the injury.
Third-Party Lawsuits
If a third party is responsible through negligence or intentional action for work-related harm, the injured employee can usually bring a lawsuit against that third party. For example, if a piece of equipment used in the workplace is defectively designed and the defect causes a worker injury, the worker may be able to sue the manufacturer, distributor and seller of the faulty equipment under a product liability theory.
Again, if the injured worker brings a successful suit against a third party, the employer or its insurer may have a lien against the judgment for the amount of workers' compensation already paid to the worker for the same injury.
Conclusion
If you have potential legal claims for relief for a work-related injury outside the workers' compensation system, be sure to meet any deadlines for filing such lawsuits. A skilled workers' compensation lawyer like one at Ouimette, Goldstein & Andrews, LLP in Poughkeepsie, New york, would be a great resource for this information.
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