Premises Liability and Workplace Injuries

Sometimes when people get hurt on the job whether or not it comes within workers’ compensation, there may be a third-party claim against someone for negligence or for the owner or manager of a building for not keeping it in safe condition. For example I have represented folks who were hurt on the job at the office building where they worked and the claim was against the owner of the building and their property management company because there was something wrong with the common areas like the hallway or elevator.

Even though the client’s employer was a tenant in the building there’s no reason that the person cannot pursue a workers’ compensation claim and a third-party claim against the building owner for their responsibility if any. As always to the extent that the bills are claimed in the third-party case that were paid for by workers’ compensation workers’ compensation has to be paid back for the money they paid out.

Another example of a situation where there can be a third-party negligence case which happens in addition to workers’ compensation in a workplace would be where a third-party vendor causes the injury at the employee’s office. For example I’ve represented a lady who got hurt in an office building setting which was caused by a water bottle distribution company and their leaky cooler which caused a puddle in the break room at her employer’s offices. All cases are different and we cannot guarantee the same result in your case, but you can read about our results on Cooper Hurley’s website.

In addition to having a potential workers’ compensation case for getting hurt on the job the worker also had a potential claim against the at‑fault water cooler delivery company and their insurer for having knowingly made a mess which they should have prevented or warned about. Finally a third example of workplace injuries where there may also be a third-party premises liability type case would be where your job is one that requires you to go to other business premises (as a delivery driver).

If you are delivering Pepsi Cola to Wal‑Mart and you get hurt as a result of something that is unsafe at Wal‑Mart’s warehouse you may have a claim against the workers’ comp insurer for Pepsi as well a potential third-party claim against Wal‑Mart for their dangerous conditions at their warehouse. As an experienced personal injury attorney I am very used to looking at these situations and figuring out all of the options for my potential client to make sure to get them the most money that I can and to get them every penny they’re entitled to if they get hurt at work or in a dangerous premises or property. Recently I co-authored Top 10 Tips If You Are Injured at a Store, Hotel or Restaurant in Virginia with my colleague Bill O’Mara. Call 757.455.0077 for a free consultation.