In general, in Pennsylvania, you cannot sue your employer or co-workers for negligence in causing an injury in the workplace [1]. However, if you are hurt at work you may have recourse other than workers’ compensation.
What if someone other than your employer is responsible for the condition that caused your injury? In that case, you may have a claim.
Some examples include:
- Slip or trip and fall injuries
- Accidents caused by unsafe building elements
- Poorly lit stairwells
- Motor vehicle accidents due to poor driveway or parking lot design
- Dangerous conditions at construction sites
- Dog bite claims against homeowners or security services
- Motor vehicle accidents while on the clock
Or what if a bat bites you at work, like in another classic episode of The Office?
In the “Business School” episode, the team discovers a bat.
Dwight: …Oh my God. Animal stool. [jumps on desk]
Pam: Dwight, what are you doing?
Dwight: Solving a mystery, if that’s quite alright with you. [opens ceiling tile] Come to Papa. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, what we have here is a bird that has been trapped in a vent. Fortunately I have found it befo–BAT! BAAAT! BAT!
Karen: Oh my God!
Dwight: BAAAAT! BAT! NO! EVERYONE REMAIN CALM! There it goes!
Taking matters into their own hands, the office staff manage to trap the bat in the break room. Unwilling to wait for animal control, Dwight puts on a helmet and kicks open the break room door, which startles the bat, causing it to fly around. Meredith, who had been hiding in the break room starts screaming and trying to escape. The bat lands on her head and Dwight pulls a garbage bag over her head, trapping both Meredith and the bat inside.
So why might Meredith have a premises liability claim?
The question is: whose responsibility was it to keep the office vermin-free?
If someone other than Dunder Mifflin (the employer) was responsible for property maintenance, Meredith may be able to recover from more than one party. For example, she could make a workers’ compensation claim to cover her lost income and medical treatment and a premises liability claim against a negligent landlord or site owner for additional damages.
Suing someone other than your employer is called a “third-party” case, meaning you seek to hold accountable any negligent third parties for injuries resulting from a workplace injury. Meredith suing the landlord in a premises liability case here would be a third-party claim.
Other common types of third-party claims include:
- Injury due to a defective product, material, machine or tool
- Injury due to negligent employees of other companies
- Injury due to unsafe conditions at a work or construction site
If your employer is responsible for the condition that caused your injury, you may not be able to bring a premises liability claim, but you still may be able to bring a workers’ compensation claim. Contact Aversa & Linn for help in evaluating if you have a viable premises liability or workers’ compensation claim.
[1] If your employer does not have valid workers’ compensation insurance, this analysis may change.
