Chapter 6, as the title implies, deals with worker’s compensation claims and is borrowed from my guide entitled Don’t Get Sued!  A Guide to Help Reduce Your Business’s Exposure to Lawsuits and reads as follows:

When an employee is injured while in the scope of employment, that employee may file a worker’s compensation claim with your business.  This is typically mandatory insurance coverage that you must offer your employees.  Worker’s compensation benefits only provide payment for what the carrier deems to be reasonable and necessary medical treatment and reimbursement for lost wages.  There is no pain and suffering compensation available.

In general, the legislature and judiciary do not like the idea of employees suing their employers, or fellow employees, for their injuries because such litigation may have an effect on the overall employment picture.  In theory at least, the worker is less likely to pursue a claim if no payment other than medical bills and lost wages is available, and not compensating for pain and suffering saves the employer considerably in terms of premiums for the mandatory coverage.

Related Blogs

• Related Blogs on Chapter 6: Worker’s Compensation

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Chapter 5 of my manual entitled Don’t Get Sued! A Guide to Help Reduce Your Business’s Exposure to Lawsuits deals with miscellaneous tort claims and reads as follows:

I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to inspect the premises of your business; not just to check off a report, but I mean inspect with a very critical eye.  While looking around your business, keep in mind that almost anything can be a hazard.  Some examples of miscellaneous claims that I have had experience with should help illustrate my point.

When you look around your store, inside or outside, how is the lighting?  Are you able to see the display cases?  Is it reasonably foreseeable that a business invitee might bump into it?  Whether the premises are properly lit is subjective.  But there are things that you can do to help protect yourself.  Make sure the highest wattage bulbs are used and that the light fixtures themselves are spaced close together.  If someone falls because they trip over something they didn’t see, rest assured that an experienced personal injury attorney will get a lighting expert out to your store pronto to check for proper wattage and the location of lights.

Another claim that I have handled which pertains to a lot of businesses is injury due to a puncture by those inventory control devices that you usually see attached to clothing.  When they are removed by the clerk ringing up the sale, be certain that there are solid procedures in place for what should be done with that sharp pin which is left uncapped.  Think about it, that pin is a claim waiting to happen.  If the patron is injured, there’s a negligence claim.  If an employee is injured is injured, there’s a worker’s compensation claim (see Chapter 6).

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• Related Blogs on Chapter 5: Miscellaneous Tort Claims

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As part of my continuing effort to keep my clients and friends informed, I am including Chapter 4, “Company Vehicles” from my handbook entitled Don’t Get Sued! A Guide to Help Reduce Your Business’s Exposure to Lawsuits, which reads as follows:

There are lots of types of businesses which need to offer their employees use of company owned vehicles.  Often, employees use these vehicles while outside the scope of employment.  Regardless of whether or not the employee is working for you, or is on a personal errand, typically, most contracts of insurance, as will likely cover your work vehicles, provide that your business’s automobile policy is primary.  This means that your coverage is first in line to pay a third party’s claim if your employee negligently injures someone else or causes property damage while driving your company’s vehicle.  With this in mind, in order to attempt to reduce your premiums, I would urge you to speak with your agent about making the coverage which is available on your business vehicle, secondary coverage in situations where your client is not acting within the scope of employment.  Such coverage should offer insulation for your business, and help keep your rates in check.

Also, consider waiving any available medical payment (med-pay) benefits, sometimes referred to as personal injury protection (pip) coverage.  Medical expenses, and sometimes wage loss (under pip only) paid under such claims are secondary to worker’s compensation benefits.  So waiving the coverage on a work vehicle may make sense and reduce your premiums.

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• Related Blogs on Chapter 4: Company Vehicles

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The following excerpt is from Don’t Get Sued! A Guide to Help Reduce Your Business’s Exposure to Lawsuits, a guide authored by attorney Roger K. Gelb.  Chapter 3 reads as follows:

If one of your employee’s injures one of your invitees, is the business liable?  The answer is sometimes.  In general, if your employee intentionally injures an invitee then, unless there was reason to know that the employee would act that way (history that you, the employer, were aware of or should have been aware of), the store probably is not liable for the employee’s intentional actions.  Beyond that, the store’s insurance coverage probably will not cover the loss.

Whether you actually know of an employee’s violent tendencies is the easy part, but in what cases should you have been aware of the employee’s violent propensities?  Watch out for obvious red flags, such as a bad temper that the employee flashes in front of you and others.  And if that temper combines with violence, and there are witnesses, your business may be on the hook if the employee injures and invitee.

An employee handbook that is provided to every employee may be a good idea.  The handbook should cover many subjects, including:  appropriate dress for the workplace, how to interact with fellow-employees (including supervisors and subordinates) and customers, what type of behavior is appropriate in the workplace, vacation time, sick leave and other topics which may be unique to your business.  Be sure to obtain a signature from the employee confirming that they have received  the handbook and will read it and obey the rules.

The employee handbook is different from a contract of employment, which I would urge that you not provide.  A contract of employment, while it may cement your agreement with your employees as far as pay and benefits go, it will also no doubt cover termination.  In most cases, such agreements only provide unnecessary restrictions on the employer as to when and how an employee may be fired.  Typically, absent such an agreement, an employee is considered an “employee at will” and may be terminated for almost any reason.  Naturally, most jurisdictions have laws in place that ensure that the reasons for the termination are not based on race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.

What if your employee negligently injures one of your customers?  In general, your business is liable under the doctrine of Respondeat Superior, which is a fancy way of saying that an employer is liable for the negligent actions of his or her employee.  Appropriate insurance coverage should cover these types of claims.

Related Blogs

• Related Blogs on Chapter 3: Employee Conduct

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