Some Accidents are Preventable

Accidents may be a part of life, but many can be avoided. In the home, one simple solution to keep people from painfully stubbing toes is to wear slippers. This way, the next time someone accidentally kicks a table leg, the toes are protected from injury.

The same principle can be applied to a construction site. Just like a home, minimising foot injuries can be done when workers don protective footwear. Work boots, like those that have metal toe caps, go a long way to shielding the feet from damage.

But what happens if workers are still injured even if protective measures he has taken? If negligence can be found on the part of the company, then workers may file a claim against the company.

This remedy was created to assist workers, who despite taking the proper work precautions, still sustain injury due to the negligence of their companies or of their co-workers

Suppose a crane was in the process of transferring several pieces of rebar from a manufacturing plant to a loading truck through the use of a crane. Due to the lack of proper maintenance for the crane, the metal bars ended up dropping on the feet of several workers wearing steel-capped boots, resulting in sever injuries to their feet.

At this point the worker may consider filing individual accidents at work claims for the injuries they sustained because despite their efforts to provide protection, they were still injured due to negligence.


Tort Law as a Remedy

What makes this type of legal remedy different is that it falls under Tort Law, which deals with the rights, obligations, and remedies that fall under civil proceedings for people who have suffered injury because of the wrongful acts of others.

The put it plainly, Tort Law deals with civil wrongs where action is taken by one person against another. And since companies are considered legal entities, claims can be filed against them, as if they were a real person.

By contrast, Criminal Law is action involving the state. One example is theft wherein police become involved because this type of action is considered a crime against the state.

The biggest difference between these two types of laws is that in Tort Law, no one goes to jail. The resulting decision in Tort Cases usually means some form of financial compensation is provided to either side. This can be in the form of damages for the injured worker, now called the plaintiff. Or it can be in the form of reimbursement to the company, now called the defendant or tortfeasor.

Though the process normally involves securing the services of a solicitor to represent the plaintiff and tortfeasor in civil court, both parties are encouraged to settle their differences out of court. This is done to provide a speedy solution and prevent the courts from being overburdened with too many accidents at work claims that can otherwise be settled amicably.