Columbus Ohio Personal Injury Lawyers
INTENTIONAL TORT
An intentional
tort is best described as follows: an employee has been injured on the job, and
that injury was caused by a situation that the employer knew would cause injury
or harm to others. In additional to claiming workers compensation, the injured
employee can also file an intentional tort lawsuit against the employer.
Recently, the
Ohio legislature has made changes to the law that favors employers and makes it
nearly impossible for employees to bring a claim for intentional tort. If a
machine guard was purposely removed by an employer, we can make a claim. If the
employer intended for the injury to occur we can make a claim. If the conduct
of the employer was absolutely outrageous, we can at least talk to you.
Questions You Should Ask an
Attorney
What to Do Following an Intentional
Tort Injury
Our law firm has extensive experience in representing victims of
intentional tort. Cases we have handled include:
- A thirty-year-old supervisor in a production
plant noticed that a guard protecting the in running nip point of a
production machine was missing. The machine had two, three hundred pound
heated rollers running at high speed that were supposed to be guarded to
protect workers who worked in close proximity from getting a hand or arm
into the nip point. He asked management to replace the guard, but it was
not. While making an adjustment to the machine one evening, his hand was
sucked into the in running nip point, and it was crushed and burned almost
completely off. We filed suit on his behalf against his employer for
allowing such a dangerous condition to exist. We discovered that the
company had dozens of other guards missing, and that the company knew they
were missing-yet did nothing about it. The case went to trial and the jury
held the employer liable in one of the largest intentional tort jury
verdicts in Ohio history, awarding both compensatory and punitive damages
because of the employer's intentional misconduct.
- A young man with a wife and two sons was
tearing off and replacing a roof of a municipal pool building. He was
wearing fall protection equipment that would have arrested a fall if he
fell off the roof, but his supervisor told him to take it off so that he
could work more quickly. In less than 30 minutes, the young man fell to
his death into the empty concrete swimming pool 40 feet below. CPAS sued
his employer for intentional tort, alleging that instructing an employee
not to use fall protection equipment was substantially certain to lead to
catastrophic or fatal injuries. A jury agreed, holding the employer liable
for the losses to the worker's family, and awarding punitive damages for
the misconduct of the supervisor.
Damages
A victim and the
victim's family may be entitled to recover damages for: hospital and medical
expenses; past and future lost earnings; past and future permanent physical
disability, such as a limp, scars, loss of a limb; emotional distress, such as
depression and anxiety; grief and emotional suffering caused by the death of a
loved one; loss of love and companionship caused by the death of a loved one;
damage or destruction of property; physical pain and suffering; and loss of
enjoyment of life.
Questions To Ask
When considering hiring a lawyer to represent you in a claim involving an
intentional tort, there are some specific questions you should ask to evaluate
the lawyer's experience with this type of case. You should ask for the number
of intentional tort cases the lawyer has handled and the results.
Clark Perdue
The law firm of Clark Perdue has extensive experience
handling intentional tort claims. If requested, we will meet you--in your home
or at the hospital, if necessary--to explain your legal rights and make
suggestions for immediate action on your claim.
