What to Do If Your Employer Intentionally Harms You

If you were harmed intentionally by your employer, you have a right to be compensated.

In Missouri, employers and companies are required to carry workers’ compensation coverage, which is a specific type of insurance that is taken out to cover an employee if they are injured while on the job. It is also meant to protect an employer from going bankrupt if an employee hurts themselves significantly enough that it would drain the company’s assets to pay for the injuries.

Workers’ compensation is not based on negligence. If you are at work and injured, even if the injury was your fault, you are usually still eligible to be compensated for both your medical bills and any lost wages due to the injuries. The one thing that you are usually not entitled to if you make a workers’ compensation claim is non-economic damages. Unlike economic damages, non-economic damages are highly subjective and meant to compensate someone for the pain and suffering they experienced or for any trauma that they endured due to their injuries.

Generally, workers’ compensation prevents you from suing your employer. You can receive compensation for your economic damages and nothing else. Under normal circumstances, if you are injured while working, you will only receive economic damages. However, there are instances when it is possible to sue your employer for your injuries regardless of whether or not they are work-related or covered by workers’ compensation. If there was egregious negligence on your employer’s part or if the injury was intentionally inflicted, then it is possible for you to sue your employer for personal injury.

A personal injury suit differs from a workers’ compensation claim in a couple of ways, but the most critical is the theory of negligence or intent. While workers’ compensation is not based on negligence or fault, if your boss intentionally inflicted harm on you, then it is possible for you to sue them.

Why Would You Want to Sue Your Boss for Personal Injury?

The main reason that you might want to sue your employer for personal injury instead of merely filing a claim for workers’ compensation is that with personal injury lawsuits, you are entitled to collect things like emotional distress and pain and suffering. If you were harmed due to your employer’s intentional acts, then you do have a right to be compensated for any mental or physical pain that results from those acts.