Source: https://www.raffandraff.com/personal-injury-practice/work-related-injuries/
Timestamp: 2019-04-18 12:26:57+00:00

Document:
The attorneys at Raff & Raff understand that injuries that happen at the workplace can often become complicated legal issues. Different types of defendants could be liable for injuries suffered by workers who are on the job.
An important factor to remember is that an employee in New Jersey generally cannot file a lawsuit against the employer or any co-workers for personal injuries. If an employee is hurt while on the job, the employee’s remedy is generally restricted to filing a workers compensation claim. The common exception is when the employer or the co-worker actuallly intends to injure the employee – in such a case the employee is free to directly sue the employer or the co-worker. Therefore is is important to understand whether the liable parties are the employer and/or co-workers, or whether someone else is at fault. It is also important to determine whether the employee is actually “on the job.” Even if the worker is off the clock but on work property, or in some cases off property and on the way home, the worker may still be restricted to workers compensation. However, even if the worker is on the job, the worker may still file a lawsuit against a third party, like the landowner, manufacturer of equipment or other work products, independant contractors who are on the job site, etc.
A landowner has a non-delegable duty to provide a “reasonably safe place” for business invitees to perform their work. Piro v. Pub. Serv. Elec. & Gas Co., 103 N.J. Super. 456, (App. Div.), aff’d o.b., 53 N.J. 7 (1968). The landowner “has a duty to eliminate or warn of potential operational hazards which are not or may not be obvious and visible to the invitee upon ordinary observation.” Izzo v. Linpro Co., 278 N.J. Super. 550, 553 (App. Div. 1995). However, when a landowner hires an independent contractor, “the general principle is that the landowner is under no duty to protect an employee of [the] independent contractor from the very hazard created by the doing of the contract work.” Gibilterra v. Rosemawr Homes, Inc., 19 N.J. 166, 170 (1955). “An independent contractor is a person ‘who, in carrying on an independent business, contracts to do a piece of work according to his own methods without being subject to the control of the employer as to the means by which the result is to be accomplished. . .” Bahrle v. Exxon Corp., 145 N.J. 144, 157 (1996) (quoting Wilson v. Kelleher Motor Freight Lines, Inc., 12 N.J. 261, 264 (1953)). See also AT&T v. Winback and Conserve Program, Inc., 42 F.3d 1421, 1435 (3d Cir.1994) (“If, however, the agent . . . is only subject to the general control and direction by the principal, the agent is termed an independent contractor.”), cert. denied, 514 U.S. 1103, 115 S.Ct. 1838, 131 L.Ed. 2d 757 (1995).
If you have been injured in an accident while at work and would like to know whether you have a case for personal injuries due to negligence, what kind of value your case may have, and what you can expect, you should contact us for a FREE CONSULTATION with one of our attorneys. We have been protecting the rights of people injured in construction accidents since 1922, and we are very experienced with construction injury cases, especially in Passaic County, Bergen County, Essex County, Union County, and Hudson County, where our attorneys regularly appear in court and regularly interact with the lawyers for the insurance companies.

References: v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v.