How to Prove a Negligent Hiring Claim

If employers do not take reasonable care to hire qualified employees, then those workers may cause personal injury, sexual assault, or worse to the injured party. We have seen this happen many times and we know how to avoid negligent hiring nightmares through simple steps like a background check of the potential employee’s criminal history.

Yet, if the employer fails to do this, then the employer’s failure may lead to the plaintiff’s harm. In that case, the plaintiff may be able to hold the employer liable for the employee’s negligent conduct (whether the employer knew or not) under a negligent retention, negligent supervision, or negligent training claim.

We know how to prove a negligent hiring cliam and can show you how you can how to connect the employee’s unfitness to prove employer negligence so you can obtain financial compensation.

Negligent hiring claims in the employment context extend to the process of hiring employees (job applicants, job applicant, job candidates) and employer’s failure to conduct due diligence, reasonable investigation, criminal background checks of employee’s background including what criminal history bears after criminal background investigations, employment discrimination, retention claims, conduct of related third parties, negligent retention, negligent supervision, and even negligent training.

Negligent retention claims are about what the employer knew. We can give legal advice on how to prove employer negligence (employer liability) and how to get them held liable in potential negligent hiring claims if the employer failed to consult consumer reporting agencies, employment history, fair credit reporting act, criminal records in a criminal background check, the employee’s unfitness, etc.

Contact us to learn about a negligent supervision claim, negligent retention claim, or general employer negligence claim. Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC has brought many negligent hiring suits and know how to go up against negligent hiring employers.

Employers must hire competent employees and we can prove negligent hiring and employer negligence if they do not. Continue reading to learn more about this subject.

How to Prove a Negligent Hiring Claim

Negligent hiring causes of action encompass different phases of employment but failure in any one of them can get the employer liable under the law, including negligent retention, negligent supervision, negligent training, and even negligent supervision.

To prove employer negligence with respect to hiring, you must establish the following elements in your such claims:

• The employee was not able to perform the work as reasonably expected;
• The employer was negligent in knowing or unreasonably not knowing that the worker could not complete their job according to the terms of his or her employment;
• The employee caused harm or loss to the plaintiff; and
• The employer’s negligence was the reason for the plaintiff’s harm or other injuries caused in the accident.

Anytime an employee individually or fellow employees together cause the plaintiff injuries then the employer fails the plaintiff and injuries caused by the worker are presumed to be the boss’ fault and responsibility.

For example, failure by the employer to not train employees to do the job safely, or failure by the employer to remove a worker after the employer learns of his/her criminal record (after a employer verified background check) or employee’s potential risk or significant risk of causing harm to third parties; or failure to keep monitoring workers can cause harm to customers that can implicate the employer.

Note, criminal background investigations creates almost an affirmative defense or at least a rebuttal of employer’s negligence, and background checking generally does as well.

This may be overcome in your case or other claims if you can show the employer did not perform to the relevant duty of care or that the employer’s compliance with background checks caused the plaintiff’s injury.

What You Can Obtain in Negligent Hiring Claims

If an employer breaches the local duty of care and you decide to file a negligent hiring complaint, you may wonder what compensation or other recovery may be available. Generally, your claims in law, and subsequent damages thereof, are based strictly on your harm or loss from the events but there are a few categories of common recuperation here.

First, you may seek reimbursement of your out-of-pocket losses like medical bills, lost wages, or property damage.

Second, you can pursue money for your intangible suffering including pain, disfigurement, disability, reduced quality of life, lost life normalcy, and other non economic damage.

Third, if the defendant’s conduct was particularly wanton or reckless, you may be awarded punitive damages. Courts grant these to plaintiffs to punish defendants and prevent similar acts in the future.

Fourth, if a loved one died in the course of the events, then you and other close family members may file for wrongful death damages. These compensate victims for the decedent’s conscious pain as well as the plaintiffs’ losses (financial, emotional, sexual, etc.) due to the person’s passing.

Speak with our experienced group of lawyers if someone harmed you while they were working so we can investigate which employer was responsible. The American Bar Association has state by state document outlines that can help guide us in this search but there are other resources as well that we can utilize (civil rights act, other statutes, etc.).

How Can You Avoid Negligent Hiring Claims

Do not fret. There are some things you can do to avoid a negligent hiring lawsuit. This will also ensure that your employees and customers can enjoy a safer environment free of accident or injury.

Follow these simple steps to start building a better workplace today:

1. Set up a comprehensive background, recruiting, hiring, and onboarding program.
2. Construct a system to supervise and train employees in a thorough manner.
3. Set up a channel of communications so that workers and costumers can come to you with questions and concerns.
4. Take accidents seriously and critically investigate the circumstances of how they happened.
5. Work with other employers to build better workplaces and communities.

Employer Liability Jury Awards and Settlements

Here are some case summaries involving disputes and controversies with employee accidents and employer responsibility.

$1,85 Million Truck Accident Settlement; 2007.

Here, a bucket truck operated by employer ComEd backed up and hit a man in his early forties. The construction accident left him with a herniated disc at the L5-S1 location as well as root impingement at the C6-C7 location. These required spinal fusion surgery.

All told, the man incurred almost $150,000 in medical bills and lost nearly $250,000 in lost wages due to the event. He brought an action against the employer for negligence and recovered $1.85 million of financial compensation for his medical expenses, personal injuries, and other damages

$7.4 Million Motor Vehicle Accident Settlement; 2015.

In this case, a young woman was walking around the hip Gold Coast section of downtown Chicago when, out of nowhere, a sanitation truck ran over the curb and onto the sidewalk. A bunch of people jumped out of the way but the girl here was not so lucky.

She was able to save a child by shoving him but she could not save herself. The truck rammed right into her. It smashed and broke bones in her legs, hips, and pelvis.

If the driver thought he had any case before, then he certainly did not after investigators learned that he was intoxicated at the time of the incident. He and his employer quickly sought to settle and move on from the controversy. The woman received $7,400,000 through an out-of-court settlement.

$2,000,000 Wrongful Death Settlement; 2002:

A man in his late sixties was hauling his tractor-trailer along Interstate eighty. A semi-truck tried to go around him but clipped the back of his large truck in the process. The error caused a collision and subsequent fire. The man could not escape the flames and perished in the tragic incident.

He was survived by four children, all were adults. They incurred almost $10,000 in funeral expenses as well as immeasurable grief and loss. They sued the defendant trucker and the large truck company he worked for at the time of the fatal crash. Despite initial protestations, the two sides were able to arrive at a settlement. The family received $2 million in financial compensation.

Talk to Us Today about a Negligent Hiring Case

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC is here for you when your family needs it most. You can email or call our office where we can arrange for a telephone, video or in-person discussion of your particular circumstance.

As with all of our legal services, we never charge a legal fee for a consultation. All of our Illinois personal injury and medical negligence cases are handled on a contingency basis where we only earn a fee when there is a recovery for you.

Time constraints may impact your ability to recover from an at-fault party. If you believe that you have a viable accident case, we urge you to contact our office at (888) 424-5757 to begin the process of assembling the most powerful case for your situation.