We rely on our places of employment to provide safe conditions for us to work. Workers might be badly injured when employers fail to provide basic safety precautions.

Exactly how a workplace injury occurs depends on many factors, including the nature of the job, the working environment, and whether proper safety procedures are followed. Many accidents stem from unsafe conditions in the workplace, faulty equipment, or inadequate safety gear. In a lawsuit, you might name your employer, coworkers, or third parties not directly involved in the accident. An attorney can help you determine who should be held liable and why. In your lawsuit, you might recover damages for your economic and non-economic injuries in addition to punitive damages.

Your place of employment should not be dangerous, and our workplace injury lawyers can help you file a lawsuit against those responsible for an accident. Call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083 for a free review of your case.

How Workplace Injuries Might Occur in New Brunswick, NJ

In many, if not most, workplaces, premises liability issues could cause serious accidents. Premises liability issues encompass dangerous or unsafe conditions and hazards that are part of the property where you do your job. For example, a flight of rickety, uneven stairs is a premises liability problem in an office building. Similarly, a wet or slick floor in a factor could cause someone to slip and fall.

Faulty equipment is another possible cause of workplace injuries, although the type of possible injuries depends on the kind of equipment you use for your job. Power tools and heavy machinery are seriously risky if they are defective, damaged, or otherwise unsafe. Even seemingly harmless tools or equipment might be dangerous if it is defective.

If your job requires safety gear (e.g., helmets, gloves, guards), you might encounter a workplace accident if the safety gear is inadequate or malfunctions. Often, safety gear must meet specific industry standards, and our workplace injury attorneys can investigate whether your employer provided adequate gear.

Whom to Name is a Lawsuit for Workplace Injuries in New Brunswick

When filing a lawsuit for injuries sustained in a workplace accident, you might name several people as defendants. Talk to our workplace accident lawyers about how and where your accident occurred, and we can assist you in determining who should be held responsible.

Your employer is probably the prime suspect in your case, and we should heavily scrutinize their behavior. Employers are generally responsible for the safety of the work environment. This means that if hazards are not removed, tools are defective, or safety gear is inadequate, the onus to rectify the problems falls on the employer.

Still, other parties might play a role in causing the accident and can also be sued. For example, coworkers might be the direct cause of the accident. If a coworker was dangerously misusing equipment or even intentionally caused the accident, our workplace injury lawyers can help you sue them for damages. Keep in mind that if your case falls under the state’s Workers’ Compensation laws, you might be barred from filing a lawsuit against your employer and coworkers. Our workplace accident attorneys can help determine if these laws apply to your case.

Third parties can also be sued even if they were not directly involved in the accident. For example, if your accident was caused by defective tools or equipment, you can sue the manufacturer under a theory of product liability.

Damages You Can Recover in a New Brunswick, NJ Workplace Injury Lawsuit

The main goal of a lawsuit is usually to recover damages. Your damages reflect the injuries, losses, and costs of your accident. Depending on the severity of your injuries and the nature of the accident, your damages might be considerable. Our workplace injury attorneys are here to help you accurately tally up your damages.

Economic Damages

Your economic damages reflect the money you lost because of the accident. Economic damages might come from various sources in varying quantities. If you require medical treatment, your medical bills should be counted among your economic damages. Medical bills can be extremely expensive, especially for those without health insurance. If your injuries were severe, your medical expenses might be off the charts.

You should also consider the amount of money you lost because you could not go back to work after your injuries. Some people spend weeks or months away from work recuperating, while others might never be able to work again. Our workplace accident attorneys can assist you in evaluating the income you have missed out on and income you could have earned in the future but no longer can.

Non-Economic Damage

Non-economic damages are based on your personal experiences and are not necessarily connected to money. For example, pain and suffering, both mental and physical, may be claimed as part of your non-economic damages even though these things did not cost you any money.

Non-economic damages are evaluated based on how they affected your life after the accident. Many plaintiffs report that things like pain, suffering, humiliation, and damage to their reputation upended their lives. As such, these experiences deserve fair compensation. Our workplace injury attorneys can help you argue for the highest compensation available for non-economic damages.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are not designed to compensate injured plaintiffs, although these damages are ultimately awarded to plaintiffs as part of their compensation. Instead, punitive damages are designed to punish defendants for their egregious behavior.

According to N.J.S.A. § 2A:15-5.12(4)(a), punitive damages may only be awarded if we prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant’s actions were driven by actual malice or included wanton and willful disregard for people who might be foreseeably harmed by the defendant’s actions. This is a high bar to meet, and punitive damages tend to be rare.

According to N.J.S.A. § 2A:15-5.14, punitive damages are generally capped at five times the value of compensatory damages (i.e., economic and non-economic damages) or $350,000, whichever is greater.

Contact Our New Brunswick, NJ Workplace Injury Lawyers

A workplace injury can be devastating. Plaintiffs not only have to deal with painful physical injuries, but they might be unable to return to their job for quite some time. Our workplace injury lawyers are here to help you through this incredibly difficult period. For a free case review, call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.