When an employee is injured in California, they can file a claim to recover workers’ compensation benefits if their injury resulted from a work-related accident. In some instances, though, injured employees or the families of deceased employees try to pursue more compensation than they would normally recover by claiming the accident in question occurred as a result of the “serious and willful misconduct” of an employer.
If you’ve been accused of serious and willful misconduct in Marina del Rey or the surrounding areas, get in touch with our attorneys at Sacks Law Group, APC. We can protect you when such accusations are dishonest or incorrect.
Understanding Allegations of Serious and Willful Misconduct in Marina del Rey
California Labor Code Section 4553 allows injured employees to recover additional compensation after being harmed on the job if it can be shown that their injuries resulted from the serious and willful misconduct of an employer. Specifically, the law states that:
“The amount of compensation otherwise recoverable shall be increased one-half, together with costs and expenses not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250), where the employee is injured by reason of the serious and willful misconduct of any of the following:
(a) The employer, or his managing representative.
(b) If the employer is a partnership, on the part of one of the partners or a managing representative or general superintendent thereof.
(c) If the employer is a corporation, on the part of an executive, managing officer, or general superintendent thereof.”
The potential consequences of being found guilty of serious and willful misconduct may be relatively substantial. Along with having to provide more compensation to an employee than they would typically be required to, it’s possible for an employer to be fined by OSHA and to see their insurance premiums rise quite substantially.
This doesn’t need to happen to you. To prove that an employee was injured because of an employer’s serious and willful misconduct, the following criteria must be met:
- The specific way in which an employer violated a safety order must be determined
- It must be essentially proven that the violation was the cause of an employee’s injury or death
- The specific way in which the violation caused a worker’s injury or death must be established
- It must be shown that the employer or other relevant party was aware of the safety order or the relevant safety order should have been obvious to the
- The party guilty of the violation
This all means that an employer who is being accused of serious and willful misconduct is not immediately going to be found to have genuinely engaged in it. If an injured employee or the family of an employee who lost their life in an on-the-job accident accuses you of serious and willful misconduct, you can hire an attorney who specializes in these types of cases to show why their accusation does not meet the criteria established above.
Contact a Marina del Rey Serious and Willful Misconduct Attorney
Proactively hiring a lawyer to protect yourself and your organization is critical when you’ve been accused of allowing an employee to be harmed due to serious and willful misconduct. At Sacks Law Group, APC, our Marina del Rey serious and willful misconduct attorneys are on hand to ensure you are protected from any false accusations. Learn more about what we can do for you by contacting us online or calling us at 310-216-7778.
310-216-7778
