Can I sue my employer for negligence?
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Can I sue my employer for negligence?
I work for an overnight express shipping company. It had me working even though I was in no physical condition to be at work; I had a herniated disk and couldn’t even stand up straight. However, if I didn’t work I would be fired. I have paperwork stating that I shouldn’t have been loading and many co-workers witnessed managers not providing me with lighter work.
Asked on July 12, 2014 under Personal Injury, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
You chose to work; the fact that you chose to do so, even if you were worried about your job, means that your employer would almost certainly not be liable. When a person freely chooses to do something that injures them, with knowledge that it may injure them, any resulting injury is their responsibility; and under the law, choosing to do (to you) dangerous work even if you believe you'd be fired if you did not is to freely choose to do it. (Alternatively, for example, you could have refused to do this work, and then, if fired, possibly brought a suit for disability-based discrimination; you also could have called out sick, used sick leave, used FMLA leave, etc.)
Furthermor, if your job was to lift or move heavy things, then your employer would not have been required to make up or create a different job for you, or to pay you for not doing your job; the employer may require you to do the job for which you were hired.
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