Some people think of a work injury case as a very basic equation where a worker simply tries to collect from his or her employer after an accident. However, these types of cases are often a little more complicated than that.
There are any number of third parties that may have responsibility in a work injury case. In some cases, it’s related to a product that’s routinely used in a work process that might be defective. In other cases, it’s parties that contributed to premises safety where, in injury cases, premises safety was deemed insufficient.
Apportioning Responsibility
In a wide variety of work injury cases, it comes down to state courts to actually portion out responsibility to various parties. For instance, the employer is often the primarily responsible party for various reasons and in various scenarios. For example, supervisors for the employer typically have the responsibility to direct work activities and may or may not warn or direct workers against existing hazards. But when it comes to property maintenance and other issues, third parties may be assigned some level of fault.
What might this look like in a random case? Let’s say that a worker employed as a subcontractor of company A by Company B fell from a defective ladder railing that was part of a structure owned by Company C. You might, for example, see the courts designate 40% to 50% of the negligence or responsibility to Company A, and some balance to Company B.
You might also see Company C getting about 10% to 15% responsibility assigned. That portion of responsibility is supposed to represent the negligence that a company had in failing to maintain safe spaces for utility workers or other individuals.
It’s important to remember that work injury cases are not cookie-cutter cases, and they’re not “guaranteed.” Lawyers have to really know how to identify defendants and interact with their counsel during the course of the legal process. They also need to bring knowledge of federal, state and local law, as well as case precedent to the table to make sure that their client is treated reasonably in local courts.
Injury victims rely on qualified injury attorneys to stand up on their behalf. They also rely on lawyers for key information about the process and advice on their responsibilities in an injury case. Everything starts with getting timely, qualified and impartial medical care and extends to evaluating settlements, showing up for court dates and generally accessing their legal rights in a local court system.
Get Work Injury Help From New York City Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers
If you or someone in your family was injured in a New York City construction site accident or any other type of accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury or other kind of injury, call Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff. Let us help you with the process of bringing work injury claims in New York courts.