![]() Injured workers can also sue individuals that are not employees and companies that are not employers. For instance, a worker injured by a negligently-designed piece of equipment rented by his employer can sue the manufacturer of that equipment, provided the manufacturer did not also send workers to the job site to operate the equipment. A worker can sue a “supplier”, which is a company that supplied a motor vehicle, machinery or equipment on a purchase or rental basis without also supplying workers, even if the supplier is a Schedule 1 employer. They are also prohibited from suing other employers participating in Schedule 1 or employees, directors and officers of those other employers. These workers are generally prohibited from suing their own employer for workplace injuries or from suing other employees, directors and officers of their employer. In Ontario the majority of workers are employed by employers insured under a collective liability scheme known as “Schedule 1”. Major reform was necessary and resulted in the creation of the provincial workers’ compensation boards. These elements made compensation very difficult to obtain. ![]() Finally, the doctrine of “assumption of risk” presumed that employees knew of and accepted the risks of their employment upon hiring, and therefore were not eligible for compensation for their injuries. First, if the injured worker was partly responsible for the accident, the compensation was reduced because of the worker’s “contributory negligence.” Second, under the “fellow servant” rule, employers were not held liable if the worker’s injuries resulted from the actions of another employee. ![]() Employers also had three main defences, known as the “unholy trinity”. Winning a civil lawsuit in these circumstances necessarily involves proving that your employer committed some kind of legal fault – often negligence. Prior to workers’ compensation schemes, workers had to sue in court for compensation for workplace injuries. This “trade-off” is meant to give workers easier access to compensation for losses caused by their workplace injury but removes their right to sue, even when those injuries were caused by an employer’s negligence or violation of occupational health and safety laws. In this system, workers give up their right to sue for damages in court in return for access to benefits on a no-fault basis through the workers’ compensation insurance plan. This means that workers do not have to show their injury was caused by any fault of the employer and can obtain benefits even if the accident was caused by their own fault. The workers’ compensation system in Ontario, administered through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), is a system referred to as “no-fault” system. However, the workers’ compensation system in Ontario limits most workers to seeking compensation through this scheme and prohibits them from suing in court. Many people who suffer a serious workplace accident as a result of the negligence of their employer want to sue for their employers in court for different types of damages, and workers frequently ask us if they can do so.
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