Morristown Work-Related Accident Attorney
Serving Clients Injured On-the-job across New Jersey
When a person is injured on-the-job, there are two potential avenues to injury compensation: personal injury claims and workers’ compensation claims. Each of these claims has its own advantages and disadvantages, and specific situations in which they can be filed.
While most employees (with a few exceptions which we will discuss in the sections below) cannot file a personal injury claim against their own employer, even if their employer acted in a negligent or careless manner, many work-related accidents are not actually the fault of the worker’s employer. If a work-related accident is the fault of a third party, the worker can pursue a personal injury claim against that third party in addition to a workers’ compensation claim against their employer.
At The Law Offices of Michael P. Burakoff, we have extensive experience helping clients injured on the job to understand their options when it comes to workers’ compensation claims and personal injury claims, and to recover full and fair compensation for their injuries in towns across Morris County and Sussex County, including Netcong, Parsippany, Mt. Olive, Rockaway, East Hanover, Hopatcong, Newton, Morristown, and more.
Call our Morristown work-related accidents attorney Michael Burakoff and our legal team today for a free and confidential consultation regarding any kind of work-related accident injury and your options for making a successful injury recovery.
Filing a Personal Injury Claim When Injured on the Job in Morris County
Personal injury claims, also known as third-party claims, can be filed against parties whose reckless or negligent actions caused you to suffer some kind of injury. While workers’ compensation laws prevent most employees from filing personal injury claims against their own employer (again see the section below for exceptions), that isn’t to say individuals injured on the job cannot file a personal injury claim against other responsible parties.
Common examples of work-related injuries resulting in a successful Morris County or Sussex County personal injury claim include:
- Driving as a part of your job (such as acting as a delivery driver) and being injured in a car accident or other motor vehicle accident.
- Third-party contractors at construction sites not observing safety regulations.
- Using defective tools or equipment such as a forklift, ladder, or scaffolding manufactured by a third party.
- Visiting an unsafe or dangerous property as part of your work duties and being injured as a result (such as a slip and fall injury)
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) violations which result in injury
In the above examples, even though the individuals have been injured while performing a work-related task (and thus may be eligible for workers’ compensation), their injuries were caused by a third party which would also make them eligible to file a personal injury claim against this third party. A successful personal injury award will include pain and suffering damages, something which a workers’ compensation will not include.
Considering that pain and suffering is often several times greater (if not more) than the injury victim’s medical expenses, filing a third-party personal injury claim in such situations may make a great deal of sense for injury victims and their families.
Filing a Personal Injury Claim Against Your Employer, Parsippany Injury Attorney
While workers’ compensation laws prevent most employees from filing third-party personal injury claims against their own employer, there are two key exceptions to this rule.
- Lack of or Inadequate Coverage – All New Jersey employers are required to have workers’ compensation insurance coverage. In fact, this requirement is part of the trade-off for employers being somewhat protected from third party claims filed against them by their own employees. However, if your employer does not have workers’ compensation insurance or insufficient levels of coverage as dictated by State or Federal Law, you may be able to file a third-party claim against your own employer.
- Intentional Harm – If your employer placed you in a situation in which they knew for a certainty that you would be harmed, such an action can also result in a successful personal injury claim against your own employer.
To further clarify this last mentioned exception to workers’ compensation laws, an intentional act of harm can be anything from your boss bunching you in your face, to your company removing safety guards from machinery or equipment for whatever reason. In these situations, your employer didn’t act negligently by failing to protect you from safety hazards, rather they actively sought to harm your well-being.
Injured First Responders and Fireman’s Act Claims Lawyer Netcong, NJ
Third party personal injury claims are especially relevant in the case of first responders such as police, firefighters, and ambulance/rescue squad workers.
Until 2006, first responders were prevented from filing third-party claims when they were injured or killed by the reckless or negligent actions of other parties when responding to an emergency. Now, however, thanks to Governor Jim Florio’s 1995 Fireman’s Act, upheld by NJ’s Appellate Courts in 2006, first responders can file personal injury claims against other negligent parties with the exception of other first responders.
Common Fireman’s Act personal injury claims include:
- Injuries on dangerous or poorly-maintained properties
- Injuries caused by defective emergency equipment
- Injuries caused by poor maintenance of emergency vehicles
- Injuries caused by other negligent drivers while driving to the scene of an emergency
- Injuries caused by an assault or other violent attacks against a first responder
- Injuries caused by unsafe or improperly stored chemicals and airborne toxins at emergency sites
If you have been injured by the reckless or negligent actions of another party as a police officer, firefighter, or ambulance/rescue squad member, contact our office today to discuss your situation and options with an experienced Netcong Fireman’s Act lawyer today.
Contact A Morris County Work Accident Attorney Today
At The Law Offices of Michael P. Burakoff, our legal team has extensive experience recovering full and fair compensation for the victims of work-related accidents and injuries of all kinds in towns across Morris County and Sussex County, including Dover, Hopatcong, Parsippany, Netcong, Newton, Morris Plains, Denville, Morristown, and more.
Morristown work accident attorney Michael Burakoff believes strongly in working closely not only with this clients but with their families as well, understanding just how stressful and difficult it can be for any family to deal with the consequences of serious injuries, and the process of recovering compensation for those injuries whether it be through a workers’ compensation claim or a third party personal injury claim.
To speak with Michael Burakoff and our legal team today in a free and confidential consultation regarding any kind of work-related accident or injury, your options for making a successful injury recovery, and how exactly we can help you to do so, please contact us online, or through either our Morristown office or our Newton office at 973-455-1567.
