Former New York Giants Video Director Files Lawsuit Against Team

The former video director for the New York Giants football team filed a lawsuit against the team after he reported a physical altercation in which two employees were physically assaulting a third. The plaintiff alleges that the attack was perpetrated by the head of data analytics and innovation, a high-ranking member of the Giant’s front office whose name has been lauded in the newspapers. The plaintiff alleges that he was threatened by the same high-ranking coordinator and that there was a culture of violence within the organization. The same plaintiff says that he was “ragefully” attacked by multiple members of the Giants staff.

Further complicating the matter is the whistleblower claim against the Giants who appear to have had issues with the plaintiff’s work only weeks after he reported the physical violence. The individual who allegedly threatened or perpetrated physical violence was removed from the video room but his title was not changed. Nor was he sanctioned, written up, or demoted.

Unpacking this situation 

There are a lot of laws that were broken. Firstly, threatening or committing violence is a crime. If someone physically assaults another worker in the workplace, the employer generally will be held liable. Workers’ compensation is unlikely to cover such a claim because it doesn’t indemnify parties in the case of someone intentionally harming another individual. Its scope is limited to accidents. So the injured party would be able to file a lawsuit against the employer to recover damages related to injuries they sustained due to the physical abuse of another employee. So any physical abuse can result in a lawsuit against an employer who put a violent individual in a position to do violence against others.

A second element is the whistleblower lawsuit. Whistleblowers are immune from the retaliation of their employers. They always try to generate some pretext to their decision to dismiss the employee, but pretense arguments are always used, it becomes the defendant’s job to prove that the pretense was valid, not the other way around. Juries hearing such cases rule on whether or not the plaintiff’s claim is more likely than not.

Workers’ compensation and intentional torts 

The workers’ compensation system was designed to benefit both employees and their employers during workplace injuries. Since workplace injuries, especially for certain types of professions, are quite common, moving disputes outside of the tort law framework was believed to reduce costs related to these injuries. However, workers’ compensation only handles ordinary negligence issues and workplace accidents. Even in cases where the employee contributed liability, the workers’ comp system should support them.

Intentional torts are outside the scope of workers’ compensation. So if someone intentionally harms you on the job, you can sue your employer, especially if that person is a supervisor or a supervisor knew about the situation and allowed it to continue.

Talk to a Miami Work Injury Lawyer Today 

Payer Law handles both workers’ compensation claims and tort lawsuits emerging from injuries. Call our Miami workers’ compensation attorneys today to learn more.

Resource:

espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31478081/former-new-york-giants-video-director-sues-organization-claiming-violence-workplace-involving-other-employees