Talk To Your Defense Attorney About How You Can Learn From A Workers' Comp Case
Posted on: 25 September 2018
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If you own a business and someone you employ is injured on the job, you could end up in a legal situation. The employee's attorney may seek to demonstrate that your negligence caused the injury, while your own workers' compensation defense attorney will put the blame on the carelessness of the employee. As you get through the suit in one way or another, it's not time to bid farewell to your workers' compensation attorney just yet. Instead, talk to him or her about how you can learn from this case, especially if you lost, to reduce the risk of further legal matters such as this one. Here are some things that you can learn.
Improve Safety Training
When an employee is hurt, his or her attorney will often make the argument that the employer didn't provide enough safety training. In other words, because the injured employee wasn't fully aware of the risks of a certain type of behavior, he or she ended up getting hurt. Your own workers' compensation attorney will likely talk to you about the importance of safety training. This not only lowers the risk of injuries but can also counter the claim that you were negligent should another injury occur sometime in the future.
Make Physical Improvements
Your workers' compensation attorney will also strongly advocate for you to make physical improvements to your place of work, especially if something of this nature led to the employee's injury. For example, if the employee slipped and fell down the stairs because he or she missed the first step, your defense attorney may advocate an idea such as placing reflecting tape on each of the stairs, including at the top, and also posting a sign that alerts people to the stairs. The presence of these materials, like safety training, will keep people safer but also protect you from appearing negligent in the event of a future incident.
Evaluate Job Responsibilities
Evaluating the job responsibilities of your employees can also lower the risk of future injuries. For example, perhaps your attorney defended you in a case in which an employee suffered a back injury because he or she was lifting too much. This can be a learning opportunity for you, as you may decide to invest in a small forklift, rather than have employees put their health at risk by lifting heavy objects. Such an investment can be unpalatable now, but end up saving you money in the future by helping you to avoid workers' compensation cases.