02/21/2023

Fights and Horseplay in the Workplace

Understanding labor and employment law

Fighting and Horseplay in the Workplace
When thinking about injuries at the workplace, many of the first things that often come to mind are single-employee accidents like slips and trips, muscle strains from lifting heavy objects or cuts and bruises from sometimes-improper use of machinery. But what happens when an employee’s work injuries are caused by the actions of somebody else? Predictably, the answer depends on the circumstances.  

Ohio Workers’ Compensation Generally
The workers’ compensation system in Ohio provides certain medical and wage benefits to employees who sustain injuries both in the course of their employment and arising out of their employment. That may sound a bit clunkier than just saying “injuries at work,” but there is meaning behind the specific language “in the course of” and “arising out of.”  

Whether an injury occurs in the course of the employee’s employment depends on the time, place, and circumstances of the injury, limiting workers’ compensation benefits to employees who are injured while engaging in some essential job duty or activity that is logically related to their employers’ business. Moreover, an injury arises out of the employment when there is a causal connection between the employee’s injury and their employment—that their employment was the proximate cause of the injury.

Please select this link to read the complete article from OSAP Strategic Partner Frantz Ward.