Intentional Tort

Intentional Torts In Ohio

What Is Ohio Tort Law?

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.

Changes To Ohio Intentional Torts

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.

Our law firm has extensive experience with Ohio tort law, including:

• A 30-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, 300 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 following Ohio tort law 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 Ohio intentional tort jury verdicts in 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 an Ohio 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 Following An Intentional Tort

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 An Ohio Tort Lawyer

When considering hiring an Ohio tort 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.