Legal Question in Employment Law in Alabama

Is an employer liable for an employee being injured by a coworker?

I am a Automation Technician for a large manufacturer.

If I install a new machine or piece of electrical equipment, and this unit operated in a manner, because of my fault (programming parameters in the unit incorrect}, as to cause an injury to a coworker. Would I be in danger of a lawsuite from the injured coworker or would the company that we work for be at fault?


Asked on 11/07/02, 9:32 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Robert Kreitlein Robert Kreitlein, Attorney at Law

Re: Is an employer liable for an employee being injured by a coworker?

The answer is probably that you both could be liable. There are any number of legal theories a plaintiff could use in a situation like this. Generally, a claim of negligence must prove that the party at fault owe a duty to the injured person, that the duty was breached, that someone was injured and that injury was caused by the breach of the duty. As an example, you could be liable for negligence if the mistake was a result of carelessness or a lack of care. The company could be held liable for negligently hiring or supervising you and possibly for not providing a safe working environment. The manufacturer of the part, machine or equipment that you negligently installed could even be held liable if it's found that something was inherently wrong with it or if adequate instruction or warning was not given in the instructions. It's important to note here that anyone can pretty much sue anyone else for a host of perceived wrongs-whether it's succesful or not depends on the facts involved, the people involved and any number of other little details. Just because someone is injured does not always mean a case exists.

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Answered on 11/07/02, 10:33 am


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