In Ontario, the Workplace Safety Insurance Board compensates those employees that have become the victim of a workplace injury or a work-related disorder. That compensation ensures the delivery of a number of timely benefits. Still, there can be times when an employee would like to seek a larger amount of money.
Ontario’s no-fault system prevents any worker from suing a boss or a co-worker. Still, that same worker does have the right to sue a third party. Of course, that third party must be someone that has displayed a readiness to engage in negligent actions.
Times when a third party’s negligent actions might injure someone that is on-the-job:
• An automobile accident takes place while someone is performing the duties that must be met by a company worker on a business trip. If the other driver caused the accident, he or she could be sued.
• A malfunction in a new piece of equipment. The maker of that piece of equipment could be held liable for any injuries.
• A malfunction in a piece of equipment that was supposed to be fixed. The company that had been paid for fixing the earlier correction might be held at least partly responsible for any resulting injuries.
Harmful situations that can trigger development of work-related disorders:
• An employee’s exposure to loud noises;
• A worker’s exposure to gases or fumes;
• An employee gets exposed to a high level of radiation;
• A worker gets exposed to a large amount of dust;
• A worker must stand for many hours on a vibrating platform;
Times when a third party’s negligence might cause a work-related disorder:
A company is sold a defective Geiger counter. That counter fails to give an adequate warning, regarding the amount of radiation in a given area. As a result, one employee gets exposed to too much radiation.
One company gets hired to paint the walls of a building used by a business. It decides to save money by using a cheaper paint. That cheaper paint gets applied to the walls of a conference room on the day of a meeting. One of the employees at that meeting suffers an allergic reaction to the paint’s fumes.
One company sends an untrained worker to install a chemical hood at a chemical factory. A recently-hired employee turns on the hood, in order to carry-out an assigned task. That same employee gets exposed to harmful fumes and develops a lung disorder.
In each of the above cases, the worker with the disorder would enjoy the option of initiating a lawsuit against a third party. Still, would that be the best move? The worker faced with making a decision ought to schedule a consultation with a personal injury lawyer in Sault Ste. Marie.