Columbus, OH Workplace Violence Lawyers

Our Workplace Violence Legal Services

Understanding Workplace Violence in Ohio Workplaces

Workplace violence encompasses any unwelcome physical conduct that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. 

Common forms of physical harassment in Columbus workplaces include:

• Unwanted touching, hugging, or kissing
• Physical intimidation and threatening behavior
• Blocking paths or cornering employees
• Pushing, shoving, or striking
• Throwing objects or slamming items
• Sexual groping or forced physical contact
• Physical threats accompanied by aggressive behavior
• Workplace violence and assault

Physical harassment often intersects with other forms of workplace misconduct. Sexual harassment frequently includes physical elements, while discrimination may escalate to physical intimidation when complaints are filed. Understanding these connections is crucial for a comprehensive legal strategy.

Your Employer's Duty to Prevent Workplace Violence

Under OSHA regulations, employers must provide workplaces that are free from recognized hazards. Workplace violence is explicitly recognized as such a hazard, creating affirmative duties that many employers ignore.

Employers must implement workplace violence prevention programs addressing:

• Risk assessment and hazard identification: Evaluating workplace factors that increase violence risk, including customer interactions, cash handling, isolated work areas, and high-crime locations.
• Engineering controls: Physical modifications like improved lighting, security barriers, alarm systems, and controlled access points.
• Administrative controls: Policies prohibiting workplace violence, reporting procedures, threat assessment protocols, and employee training programs.
• OSHA recordkeeping: Documenting workplace violence incidents when they result in injury requiring medical treatment.

When employers fail these obligations, they face liability through several legal theories:

• Negligent hiring occurs when employers fail to conduct reasonable background checks and hire individuals with histories of workplace violence or criminal behavior that pose foreseeable risks to other employees.
• Negligent retention applies when employers keep employees despite knowing about violent tendencies, threats, or previous incidents of workplace harassment or assault.
• Negligent supervision involves failure to adequately oversee employees, implement safety protocols, or respond appropriately to reports of threatening behavior or escalating conflicts.
• Failure to implement safety measures includes ignoring obvious violence risks, failing to develop workplace violence prevention programs, or inadequately responding to OSHA citations or employee safety concerns.

These employer duties create independent grounds for liability beyond the individual perpetrator's actions, often providing access to greater financial recovery through employer insurance coverage and assets.

Multiple Paths to Justice and Compensation

Victims of workplace violence have several legal avenues that can be pursued simultaneously, each serving different purposes and providing different types of compensation.

Criminal charges are initiated by prosecutors and focus on punishment and public safety. While you cannot control criminal prosecution decisions, filing police reports strengthens civil cases by creating official documentation, may result in protective orders, and can lead to criminal convictions that support civil liability claims.

Employment law claims target employer liability through Title VII, the Ohio Civil Rights Act, and other statutes prohibiting workplace harassment and discrimination. These claims can result in reinstatement, back pay, front pay, compensatory damages, and attorney's fees.

The strategic relationship between these approaches is crucial. Criminal prosecution doesn't compensate victims, so civil lawsuits are required for financial recovery. However, criminal convictions or plea agreements can strengthen civil cases by establishing liability. Some jurisdictions allow extended civil statute of limitations periods following criminal convictions.

Employment lawsuits against employers address systemic failures, discriminatory harassment, and retaliation. These claims often provide the greatest financial recovery potential through access to corporate assets and insurance coverage.

The optimal strategy typically involves coordinated pursuit of multiple claims, with timing and settlement negotiations managed to maximize total recovery while avoiding double compensation restrictions.

What You Can Recover

Victims of workplace violence may recover compensation through multiple sources, depending on the specific circumstances and legal claims pursued.

Economic damages in civil and employment lawsuits include:

• Past and future medical expenses for physical injuries and psychological treatment
• Lost wages during recovery periods
• Loss of earning capacity if harassment affects career advancement
• Therapy and counseling costs for trauma treatment
• Career counseling and job placement services

Non-economic damages compensate for intangible harms:

• Pain and suffering from physical injuries
• Documented emotional distress and psychological trauma
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment

Punitive damages may be awarded for particularly egregious conduct, designed to punish wrongdoers and deter future misconduct. Attorney's fees are recoverable in successful Title VII and other federal employment law claims, meaning defendants pay the plaintiff’s legal costs rather than reducing the amount of compensation the plaintiff receives

Steps to Take After Workplace Violence

Taking immediate action following physical harassment protects both your safety and legal rights. Here's a strategic timeline: