Forms of Negligence at Work

Our working environments are supposed to be a sanctuary to increase our productivity. Suffering an injury at the workplace not only raises questions about the work ethics and standards set by the employer but can also lead to suffering and despair beyond mending. 

 

Many employers do not uphold their claims of a safe working environment. Their employees are often left in the lurch to deal with job hazards and might end up in a hospital or outpatient care with years’ worth of physical therapy to worry about.

 

Workplace negligence comes in many forms, some of which are:

 

Negligent Hiring

This type of negligence occurs when the employer is careless when screening prospective employees and cannot determine whether these individuals will threaten their co-workers and supervisors. If an employee commits a crime, the employer can be found negligent if he or she did not use due diligence in hiring the employee by cross-checking their records and background.

 

Negligent Retention

When an employee does not arouse any undue attention during screening but starts developing a criminal bent of mind or unsafe behavior at work, it is time to retrain, reassign, or bid them goodbye. If an employer fails to take action even after repeated alarming signs, it is termed negligent retention. This holds even if the employer is aloof or unaware of a worker’s lack of fitness to fulfill tasks. 

 

Negligent Training

Proper training is one of the requisites that enables an employee to partake their duty. But suppose an employee is found to be lacking the essential training and injures a co-worker in this process. In that case, the responsibility comes upon the employer who failed to provide the proper training or to reasonably control by monitoring the actions taken by his or her employees.

 

Here is how you can ensure that negligence at work is treated properly and you get the deserved compensation for it:

 

  • Seek medical aid if necessary. While you might have been lucky enough to survive the incident of negligence without life-threatening injuries, it is advisable to visit the doctor or at least take first aid. It will subside any risks to you along with making the incident official and in records. 

 

  • Report the incident as soon as possible. There is a good chance that the negligence went unnoticed without witnesses. You should consider all legal options before you dive and hire an attorney to assist you. Gather all the bills, evidence, and other such documents that might come to your aid when fighting for your claim. 

 

  • Acting quickly is of utmost importance as many statutes of limitations across the US are short for certain crimes such as negligence at work. If you fail to report on time, you might not receive any claims no matter how unjustified it may seem.

 

  • Getting in touch with an attorney is the most crucial part of the process as they can guide you to the whole process and ensure that you don’t have to bother with the hassles of fighting for your claim alone. 

 

In order to get justice served and compensated duly for the harassment caused as a direct result of someone else’s negligence, you can take the help of a reputed law firm.