Intentional Acts

Can You Sue For Workplace Violence?

Yes, you can sue for workplace violence in certain circumstances. If you are a victim of workplace violence who cannot receive workers’ compensation, you can file a civil lawsuit against your employer for negligence. However, this is only the case if the employer knew of a threat, but didn’t take the necessary steps to address the issue. Please also note that if workers’ compensation covers the extent of expenses resulting from your injury, you cannot file a civil lawsuit.

What Should You Do If You Are A Victim Of Workplace Violence?

If you have been threatened, harassed, or have been the victim of physical violence at work, the first step you should take is to report it to your supervisor to create a record of the incident. If your employer doesn’t address it and it continues, then the next step is to report the incident to your local police.

Can I Sue My Employer If I Was Assaulted At Work?

Yes, you have the right to a safe work environment and if this is violated through assault, harassment, or discrimination then you are able to file a civil lawsuit for negligence against your employer. If you’re unsure whether you qualify, contact Parker Waichman LLP for a free case consultation.

Can I Sue For Verbal Abuse In The Workplace?

Situations do not have to escalate to physical violence before you have options for legal recourse. A workplace lawsuit can be a workplace intimidation lawsuit or a verbal harassment in the workplace lawsuit.

What Type Of Lawyer Do I Need For Work Related Issues?

A personal injury attorney can help with workplace violence related incidents and an employment lawyer can help you with multiple areas of work-related lawsuits such as:

• Sexual harassment
• Discrimination based on disability, race, gender, age or religion
• Wrongful termination
• Pregnancy discrimination
• Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)
• Whistle blowing
• Overtime claims
• Meal and break claims
• Discrimination based on Military Service (USERRA)

Who Can Report Workplace Violence?

Anybody can report workplace violence or harassment to their superior or to the local police. Employees should not feel too intimidated by their employer to report violence and harassment. It’s the employer’s responsibility to create a safe environment and to provide a safe way to report these incidents.

Is Workplace Violence Covered By Workers’ Compensation?

Workers’ compensation covers any injury an employee incurs while they are performing their job duties. If the employer did not adequately prevent the violence from occurring, the injured employee is covered by workers’ compensation. Workers’ compensation generally doesn’t cover injuries that occurred due to violence of a personal nature that was not connected with the workplace. The injured party will also have to prove their injuries were caused by workplace violence.

Can A Company Fire You For Suing Them?

Suing for workplace violence, harassment, or assault is legal, and a company cannot fire you for filing a claim against them. Even if you lose the lawsuit, the employer still cannot fire you for pursuing the lawsuit. We all have a right to an attorney if we believe we’ve been victims of a crime with no repercussions.

What Are The 4 Types Of Workplace Violence?

Workplace violence can take place in a number of different ways and involving different parties, both affiliated and unaffiliated with the business. In our experience litigating these types of claims, we can usually separate the cases into four types:

• Criminal intent
• Customer or client
• Worker-on-worker
• Personal relationship

Employer-Employee Workplace Violence

These types of workplace violence involve an employer committing an act of violence against an employee. This can be an immediate supervisor or a high-level executive and can include some of the following incidents:

• Sexual assault
• Sexual harassment
• Physical and verbal intimidation
• Verbal threats
• Hostile behavior

Many times, these types of acts go unreported because employees are worried about losing their jobs. The incidents can be compounded by threats of firing if the victims tell anyone or hire a lawyer. You should never accept working in an unsafe environment, and a lawyer can assist you if you find yourself in this sort of situation.

Worker-On-Worker Violence

Worker-on-worker acts of workplace violence involve two or more employees of the same company. Sometimes these occur while people are still employed, and sometimes they take place after the employee is gone, which are often referred to as “disgruntled employee” situations. These can include all of the following:

• Sexual assault
• Sexual harassment
• Physical and verbal threats
• Hostile behavior
• The destruction of personal property
• Brandishing of weapons
• Discussions of committing acts of violence at work
• Workplace shootings

Employers have certain duties to keep their employees safe, and when you are subjected to violence at work, you have the right to seek justice.

Criminal Intent

Many incidents of workplace violence occur when people unconnected to the business enter with the intent of committing a crime – usually an economically-motivated crime like robbery. These can also include situations of customer violence against employees. Employees working at the time can be injured simply by being in the business when the offender arrives. While no business is completely immune from violence of this sort, convenience stores and bars open during late hours are particularly vulnerable.

Workplace Environments That Pose A Greater Chance For Workplace Violence

Some states offer guidance about situations or workplace environments that generally pose a higher risk of violence. The following list is provided by the New York Department of Labor.

A few workplace environments that may pose a greater risk for workplace violence include:

• Duties involving exchange of money
• Delivery jobs, including passenger and goods delivery
• Mobile work assignments
• Work that regularly involves volatile persons, such as health care, social services, and criminal justice jobs
• Jobs that involve working late or early-morning hours
• Working in areas of high crime
• Working alone or in small numbers
• Jobs that involve working with or guarding property of high value

Even when violence is committed by someone outside of the workplace, employers have an obligation to protect their employees from harm. No matter who actually injured you, if you were at work when it happened, you might be legally qualified to file a lawsuit against your employer.

Workplace Violence Causes Of Action

When you are injured at work in an act of workplace violence, you need to look into the feasibility of filing a claim against your employer. You can do this by alleging a number of different things, depending on the circumstances of your particular claim.

• Negligent Security – Employers have a duty to take steps to make sure their businesses are safe. If they do not have proper security, like adequate lighting, alarms, cameras, and security guards (depending on the business), they can be held responsible for acts of violence committed against their employees. Especially if crimes have previously been committed on or near the property or at similar businesses, employers need to take appropriate steps to protect their employees. If employers fail to take such measures, employees can file a lawsuit for an unsafe work environment.
• Negligent Training – Along the same lines of negligent security, employers need to train all their employees as to what to do in a dangerous scenario like a robbery or customer hostility. Without proper training, employees are more at risk of being injured. Employers also need to provide training in sexual harassment and workplace hostility so that all employees know what unacceptable behavior is and what steps they can take if they experience workplace violence.
• Negligent Hiring – If employers fail to perform proper background and reference checks, they are at risk for hiring someone with a criminal history or propensity toward violence. If someone who should never have been hired injures another person on the job, the employer could be held liable for neglecting to make adequate hiring measures.
• Negligent Supervision – Employers sometimes turn a blind eye to what is going on in their businesses, often not wanting to deal with employee “drama.” If they fail to supervise or take seriously a situation of workplace violence, they can be sued for placing their employees at a continued risk of harm.
• Negligent Retention – When employers learn about workplace violence, they should never keep the offending employees on staff. Sometimes during busy periods, employers will try to handle things conservatively so as not to lose time and money, but this places victims at a continued risk of violence and creates a toxic work environment.

How Do I File A Lawsuit Against An Employer?

As you read above, each of these causes of action involves a lawsuit based on negligence. Under theories of general negligence, we must be able to prove four basic things in court:

• Duty
• Breach
• Damages
• Causation

As discussed previously, employers have a duty to keep their employees safe. We have to prove that in your case, your employer had a legal obligation to protect you from harm, and that your employer failed to do so. If you were injured in a robbery at your workplace, we need to show that under the same or similar circumstances, a reasonable employer would have taken appropriate steps to prevent the robbery from occurring or to prevent you from being injured during the robbery. The court in this sense will look at what your employer did versus what your employer should have done to make a determination about whether a duty was breached.

In addition, we have to prove you were harmed in some way, and your harm was caused by the negligent conduct of your employer. While physical injuries are generally not especially difficult to prove, emotional and psychological injuries might require a medical expert to testify in your case as to your damages. Further, we have to show that some alternate conduct by your employer would have made a difference. If there was nothing your employer could have done, you will not succeed on your claims.

These cases require significant time and effort to build and you need lawyers who know how to handle them. Parker LLP has extensive experience litigating workplace violence cases, and we know what it takes to win.

Statutes Of Limitations On Workplace Violence Cases

When you are suing for workplace violence, you must make sure your claim has not expired under the state’s statute of limitations. Statutes of limitations are state-enacted time limits on filing claims. They tend to encourage people to investigate and file their claims more quickly, which will have the natural effect of preserving evidence for trial. You want people’s memories to be accurate and documents to still be available by the time you sue.

In a negligence action for workplace violence, each state has differing time limits to file a lawsuit alleging workplace violence.

For example, here are a few states that have difference statutes of limitations for filing a workplace violence lawsuit:

• New York – 3 years
• New Jersey – 2 years
• Florida – 4 years

This means the clock will usually start running from the date of the act of violence. It can be difficult determining the statute of limitations in cases of ongoing violence, so you must be sure to hire competent counsel to figure out the correct time limit on filing your case. The attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP are diligent about calculating statutes of limitations on all our new cases, so you can be confident when you hire us that your rights will be protected.

How Much Will An Employment Lawyer Cost?

It is important to find the right lawyer to assist with your legal action and any questions you may have. At Parker Waichman LLP, your legal consultation is free. When pursuing a case, our clients are not responsible for upfront costs; we won’t charge you anything until we recover for you.

How Could A Personal Injury Lawyer Assist Me?

When you work with Parker Waichman LLP, your dedicated workplace violence attorney will help you seek compensation for all the ways in which you have been harmed by workplace violence. This will include filing a lawsuit that alleges all of the following types of damages:

• Past medical bills
• Future medical bills
• Lost wages (current and future)
• Mental and physical pain and suffering
• Punitive damages (if appropriate)

We know that this experience has been extremely traumatic, and no amount of money will completely restore your life. But particularly if you have had to miss work or leave your job because of your injuries, a settlement or verdict can help ease the financial burden that has been placed on you and your family.

Why Choose Parker Waichman LLP?

Throughout decades of representing injured people, we have earned a reputation for compassion and professionalism. Our firm is proud to hold numerous honors and accolades from colleagues, clients, and judges, including a listing in the extensively peer-reviewed, Best Lawyers Publication, a 9.8 out of 10 AVVO rating, and a rating of “Pre-Eminent Lawyers” by the Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Review Rating system.

We are extremely passionate about helping people and have the resources and skills to begin investigating your workplace violence claim and to seek full compensation for you.

Our Promise To You

Workplace violence cases can be especially sensitive and difficult to talk about. Depending on what happened to you and for whom you worked, you might be reluctant to open up about the incident. We can assure you that a Parker Waichman LLP workplace violence lawyer takes attorney-client privilege very seriously, and we only hire caring, compassionate lawyers. Your privacy will be fiercely protected, and your attorney will create an environment in which you feel comfortable talking about what happened.

When there is potential for a lawsuit to be filed against an employer, your case will undoubtedly involve extensive document discovery and depositions. The best way to succeed is to hire experienced lawyers who understand the system and will not be intimidated by corporate counsel and massive document production. We will get to the bottom of what happened and hold the responsible parties accountable, starting with a confidential consultation at absolutely no cost to you. We offer free consultations and will perform your case review and investigation without ever asking for money up front.