Duties of Employers
According to the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, businesses with three or more employees are required to obtain workers’ compensation coverage, which provides “specific benefits to workers injured out of and in the course of their work.” It also grants protection to employers from civil suits for work-related injuries. Employees may be part-time, temporary or seasonal, minors, trainees, immigrants, and working family members to be accounted for in a company’s worker's compensation coverage. Subcontractors, or individuals hired by another company to assist in their business, are also considered when obtaining this coverage.
Employers are responsible for informing employees about their expectations and processes for reporting injuries, and employers must notify their insurer immediately after they receive an injury report. Afterward, they must clearly publish a worker's compensation notice to demonstrate their compliance with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act.
Employers are also required to maintain a record of any deaths or injuries of employers that occurred during their course of employment.
Workplace Negligence and Injured Workers
Negligence is a breach of a duty of care that can come in many forms. Workplace negligence, in particular, involves breaches or violations by an employer that results in injuries, loss, or death of employees and customers. Employers are responsible for exercising duties of care for their employees and customers, including providing adequate training upon hire, maintaining safe equipment, and more.
Vicarious liability is related to workplace negligence. Employers, such as a restaurant, can be vicariously responsible and thus liable for a breach of duty by an employee, such as a waiter or waitress.
According to the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, a worker who suffers an injury or disease as a result of their job must adhere to the following guidelines to report their injury.
Report the injury to your employer as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days since the incident occurred or 30 days since a doctor established the injury is related to work.
If an employer or insurance carrier does not respond to an employee’s request for medical treatment after an accident, the employee should contact 1-877-664-2566 to directly reach the Commission.
File a claim with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission no later than two years after the incident occurred.
Individuals can file their claims in person, by mail, by fax, or online. To submit a claim in person or by mail, an individual must complete the Claim for Benefits Form and deliver it to a Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission office or mail it to 333 E. Franklin St., Richmond, VA 23219. Otherwise, an individual must complete the Claim for Benefits form and fax it to 804-823-6956.
After reporting an accident, the Commission can send an individual their unique Jurisdiction Claim Number (JCN) and PIN number to create a WebFile account. An individual will use these identification codes to file a claim on the WebFile website.
Employers must file a report of their employee’s injury or disease to the Commission within 10 days of the incident. Reporting the accident 30 days after the accident occurred could result in denial of the employee’s claim.
The following links from the Commission provide more information about actions that an injured employee should take after an accident.
Injured Workers Benefits Guide
Claims and Hearings Flow Chart
Workplace Negligence in Restaurants
Breaches of duty in restaurants can result in a plethora of injuries to patrons and employees. Undercooked or improperly cooked food can result in food poisoning, hazardous materials like glass can be accidentally left in food and be swallowed by customers, wet floors can result in slipping and falling, hot food can spill and cause burns, and more.
There are, however, limits on liability for injuries caused in restaurants for restaurant owners. For instance, restaurant owners have no legal obligation to protect customers from third parties, such as an aggressive customer or passerby. Contributory negligence also lessens an individual’s right to recover damages from a restaurant after an injury. For example, if a customer burned themself on a hot plate or pan, they may be unable to receive any compensation from the restaurant if their server had already warned them not to touch the heated elements. Thus, the server completed their due diligence by providing a warning, so the customer had contributed to their injury by ignoring the warning and touching the hot plate anyway. Additionally, restaurants are not liable for injuries caused by unforeseeable events, such as hazardous conditions (e.g. spills) caused by other customers or a natural disaster that could shake the restaurant and cause a customer to fall.
Filing a Claim Against Workplace Negligence
An injured party can file a workplace negligence claim against a company and/or its employee for a breach of duty to recover financial compensation for medical bills, lost wages or job termination, pain and suffering, property damage, and any other out-of-pocket expenses.
To prove negligence, the four following elements must have been demonstrated:
A duty of care of the employee
A breach of the duty of care
The breach caused an injury
An individual suffered from the injury
Evidence that supports these elements is critical to submitting a strong claim against a negligent employer. Most restaurants, for instance, develop an incident report after an accident that includes details about an individual’s injury and any witnesses.
An attorney, especially one that specializes in professional negligence, can assist an individual during this process to ensure they receive the best compensation package possible.
