As a general rule, employees who are injured on the job in California are limited to filing workers compensation claims. However, there are exceptions to the general rule that employees cannot file a claim against their employer in civil court. In those cases, an experienced California personal injury lawyer can work with you to help you get the compensation that you deserve.
There are five situations in which an employee can file a civil lawsuit against his or her employer for a workplace injury:
- If the injury was caused by a willful physical assault by the employer (intentional acts);
- If the injury was from an improperly set up power press machine;
- If the employer did not have workers’ compensation when the injury occurred;
- If the injury was aggravated by something related to employment that the employer fraudulently concealed;
- If the employer was injured by a product made by the employer but the employee was not acting as an employee when he or she was injured (dual capacity injuries); or
While most workplace injury claims in California are handled through the workers’ compensation system, if the employer does something outside of the work relationship and the employee is injured as a result, he or she can file a civil lawsuit. As an experienced California personal injury lawyer can explain, the potential settlement or award in a civil lawsuit is much higher than in a workers’ compensation claim. If your case falls into one of the five categories listed above, a personal injury attorney can help you understand your options for filing a claim against your employer.
