What Happens When There is A Fight at Work

Florida Workers Compensation benefits may apply when someone is hurt from a fight at work. You can get benefits from injuries resulting from a fight at work if a sufficient connection to the job exists. However, the aggressor in the fight will not get workers’ compensation benefits from the Carrier (the insurance company), only the victim. Florida Statute Section 440.09 prohibits you from receiving workers’ compensation benefits if you are hurt while trying to injure another person. The aggressor is the person who started the fight by making the first assault or upon the other person with the intent to injure or kill.

When a fight happens in the workplace, a Carrier will investigate usually to determine who started the fight and what the fight was about. If the fight has nothing to do with the job, no workers’ compensation benefits will be provided just because the fight happened at work. A Carrier will investigate the out-of-work relationship of the co-employees and whether they have a personal relationship outside of work and if they met at work initially.

The courts in other fight cases, when deciding to award benefits, will specifically look to see certain factors:

if the employees have had a personal relationship that began at work;
if the employment placed the workers in close proximity;
if any weapon used in the fight was an implement from employment;
if the work environment directly influenced the fight;
and if the employment was a factor facilitating the assault.

Workers’ Compensation Carriers often deny these types of cases so legal representation may be of benefit to you in you have been the victim of a work-related fight. If you have suffered from a work-related fight and need help obtaining benefits from workers compensation, call us at (904) 777-7777 at Harris Guidi Rosner PA for a free legal consultation or email us at mills@harrisguidi.com to schedule a time to discuss your case and rights.

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Kendall Mills

A Florida native, Kendall has been a Workers' Compensation Attorney for over 17 years. She is an attorney with the Jacksonville Law Firm of Harris Guidi Rosner, P.A.. Kendall has lectured at numerous seminars, including continuing education classes for workers’ compensation claims professionals and she is certified by the Florida Department of Insurance as an instructor in Florida Workers’ Compensation.
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