this rule apply for: (i) intentional torts (the most common of which being battery ix and assault x ); and (ii) injuries caused by third-parties. Injuries that are caused by third-parties are commonly the result of “negligence” – the failure to exercise the degree of care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. In order to prevail on a claim of negligence, the injured person must prove the following elements to show that the offending person failed to act with the degree of care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances: 1) Duty - The offending person owed a legal duty of care to the injured person under the circumstances; 2) Breach – The offending person breached the duty by acting or failing to act in a certain manner; 3) Causation – It was the offending person’s actions (or inaction) that actually caused harm to the injured person; and 4) Damages - A court must be able to compensate the injured person for the harm that was suffered (usually through monetary compensation for expenses such as medical care and property damage). See e.g ., Palsgraf v. Long Island R.R., 249 N.Y. 511 (1928). When using the above constructs to analyze potential liability for deficient safety training, the most-likely theoretical conclusions are as follows: • An employer that fails to comply with OSHA requirements to provide adequate safety training to employees can be subject to OSHA citations and monetary penalty assessments. If the employer’s failure to provide the required safety training was willful and such failure to provide training results in an employee fatality, the employer and its managers can be subject to criminal prosecution. At Multi-Employer sites, parties with “Correcting” and “Controlling” authority/obligations might also (depending upon the complexity/scope of the work and the attendant degree of care that is required) be subject to OSHA citations, penalties, and/or criminal enforcement for the “Exposing”/”Creating” employer’s failure to provide required training to its employees. • An employer that fails to comply with OSHA requirements to provide adequate safety training to employees is -- because of the U.S. workers’ compensation benefits system -- not likely to be subject to personal injury suits brought by an injured employee unless it can be shown that the employer’s failure to provide the required training was intentional/willful. An employer’s negligent selection of a
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