Salt Lake City Workplace Injury Lawyer
Being injured while working on the clock might seem like something saved for construction or factory workers only. They operate in high-pressure environments with many tools and potentially hazardous conditions.
Workplace injuries are far more common than you might think and are not reserved purely for high-octane positions. Suffering a serious injury in your office or on the clock can lead to anxiety about whether reporting it will result in an awkward work environment.
If you are currently navigating the tricky aftermath of a workplace injury, consulting with an attorney can help.
What Qualifies as a Workplace Injury in Salt Lake City?
A workplace injury is an injury that has occurred on your job site. It is a direct result of your employer’s negligence or recklessness. A workplace injury is not just a paper cut you get at your desk, but instead must be because of an unsafe work environment or lack of proper training. Though many workplace injuries affect construction or factory workers, they can happen to anyone in any working environment.
Common examples of workplace injuries in Salt Lake City include:
- Slip-and-fall
- Product liability, like faulty machinery or tools
- Overexertion
- Being struck by a falling or stray object
- Falling from a great height due to lack of proper safety equipment
- Being caught in machinery
- Repetitive jerking movements
- Being exposed to dangerous chemicals for long periods
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These injuries are commonly avoidable by ensuring a workplace is consistently utilizing best safety practices. Additionally, all employees should be properly trained, with regular refreshers available. Leading team members are responsible for regular checkups and providing employees with a workplace environment conducive to everyone’s general safety and health. Any deviation from these practices is considered negligence and leaves you at risk of injury.
How Does Workers' Compensation Work After a Workplace Injury in Utah?
Utah requires all workplaces with over six employees to carry workers’ compensation insurance. There are many steps to obtaining workers’ comp, which can become confusing once you are dealing with an injury. To ensure you are doing everything right to secure the best possible solution for your damages, it is important to speak with a personal injury attorney first. They can help you assess your options.
Establish Negligence
To be eligible for workers’ compensation insurance or to file a claim, you must have proven that your employer has exhibited the four elements of negligence. These include:
- Duty of care: When you walk into work in the morning, you don’t expect to leave with severe injuries. A duty of care is the expected safety standard your employer must provide to you. This can be in the form of training, a comfortable office environment, or proper safety equipment and gear.
- Breach of care: Failure to provide that duty of care is considered a breach of duty. Not being fully trained or being expected to complete a job without the proper materials or equipment is a breach of duty and is considered reckless or negligent.
- Causation: This is the direct link between the breach of duty and your workplace injury.
- Damages incurred: Negligence resulting in damages means your workplace can be held liable.
No matter the severity of your injuries, you are owed compensation for your damages.
Workers’ Compensation Vs. Filing a Claim
A workplace injury is unique in that you have two options after being injured: filing for workers’ compensation or suing your employer. These are two very different steps, and it is more common to have a Salt Lake City workplace injury lawyer help you with workers’ compensation benefits than to file a claim against your employer. The state of Utah does not allow you to do both, and this will result in a denied claim.
Utah requires your workplace to carry insurance to cover economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are measurable losses, such as medical bills, prescriptions, and lost wages. Non-economic damages refer to intangible losses like pain and suffering.
There are a few reasons why your Salt Lake City workplace injury lawyer may recommend filing a claim against your employer instead of going after workers’ compensation. The most common is intentional harm, meaning you have sufficient reason to believe your employer purposefully sought out harm against you.
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