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Should I sue my current employer for my second on the job injury of no fault of my own due to unsafe work conditions?
Anonymous5 views2 answers
My left index finger was crushed in a press brake back in April of 2018. I've since recovered from that and settled my workers comp. Then about two weeks ago my middle index finger was severely lacerated cutting 1/4 inch scrap steel. Both of these injuries were in no way my fault but the fault of unsafe working conditions. Prior to my first injury, two other coworkers were injured before my employment, also due to unsafe working conditions. One machine in particular had no cage guard before one coworker was injured and immediately the day after it had a cage guard.
Workers Compensation in Oregon is an "exclusive remedy". What that means is that your only right of action against the employer is the workers compensation remedy. If the employer disregarded an OSHA red tag, or they had no workers compensation insurance, or intentionally injured the employee then that employee can sue outside of the comp remedy.
You cannot sue for a workers' compensation claim in Oregon. Workers' comp is an "exclusive remedy" meaning that, if you have a workers' comp claim you cannot make another claim under tort law for negligence. This goes both ways in that it does not matter if the employer or the worker was at fault for an injury, it is workers' comp either way.
