The law treats workers' compensation as a sort of compromise. It gives workers insurance for on-the-job accidents and quicker resolution of a claim once an accident does happen than they'd see if forced to file a personal injury suit. In return, the employer gets immunity from personal injury lawsuits every time an employee is injured.

However, there are times that compromise is abused by employers seeking to avoid responsibility for intentional violations of specific safety requirements. If you've been injured, this is what you should know about some additional rights and benefits that may be available to you.

Each state has its own terms and laws about the situation.

Many states use the term "violation of specific safety requirements" (or a VSSR claim) when referring to the situation. Other states use the terms "intentional" or even "criminal" violation of safety requirements, but the terms all mean basically the same thing: the employer knowingly violated the safety laws designed to protect employees, and an employee got hurt. 

Once that happens, the employer may try to hide behind workers' compensation laws to protect themselves against further liability. Fortunately, the courts won't allow an employer to put all of the responsibility for your injuries on workers' compensation if the employer willfully, intentionally, criminally or knowingly violated safety regulations.

This means that you aren't limited to just ordinary workers' compensation benefits to repay you for your injuries. You can seek additional compensation through VSSR provisions that will provide financial benefits above and beyond the typical workers' comp award.

Each situation is different and requires some expert advice.

Because state laws vary so much, and each situation is different, you want to speak with a workers' compensation attorney in your own area so that you understand the correct terminology used in your area and any restrictions that exist on claims outside the workers' comp system.

While all accidents are unique, there are some common underlying situations that often give rise to VSSR claims:

• an employer fails to keep a regular maintenance and repair schedule for dangerous machinery
• an employee is pressured to skip normal safety checks because a job needs to be done quickly
• employees who are there to oversee safety checks are absent and the employer allows operations to proceed normally
• an employer doesn't run regular quality-control inspections 

You can naturally expect an employer to try to fight a VSSR claim, since most employers aren't going to want to simply admit to a willful violation of safety standards. One of the most common defenses brought forward is the "one-time malfunction" rule. This rule states that an employer can't be held liable for a VSSR claim when a piece of machinery has malfunctioned just once.

Some defenses are successful because the employer is able to show that maintenance routines have been followed, there was no indication the machine was about to malfunction, and normal safety practices were otherwise followed. However, many defenses fail because the employee is able to show that the machine was showing signs that it was becoming defective, even if it had never actually malfunctioned up to that point. 

For more information, contact Paul F Guthrie or a similar legal professional.