Can my children file a law suit against my employer? 21 Answers as of June 02, 2013

Whether or not your child can sue your employer depends on specific circumstances such as whether or not your injury resulted from your employer's intentional actions. The best way to determine whether or not your child has a claim is to consult an attorney that handles Workers' Compensation cases. The attorney will be able to ask you a series of questions such as: How did the injury occur? Was it the fault of your employer? Whether or not the employer's actions were intentional? What damages did your child suffer as a result of your injuries? And other questions to determine whether or not your child has a claim. If the attorney decides that your child has a claim, he/she can also assist you in calculating possible damages and provide you with a range of percentage of success for your claim. However, please keep in mind that nothing is guaranteed and no attorney can guarantee you a specific dollar amount in a case. Each case is individual and has varying factors which determine the outcome. Good luck to you and your child.

In a comp case you are covered because you are an employee. Your children are not employees. Under comp law you are entitled to medical care and part of lost wages. That is it basically.

RCW 51 sets forth the legal statutes regarding industrial insurance, which usually limits the recovery of a person injured on the job to worker's compensation through the Department of Labor and Industries. http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=51. You can start a worker's comp claim at their website: http://www.lni.wa.gov/claimsins/claims/. You can also research relevant cases at the MRSC website. The question regarding whether your children might have independent claims is novel and interesting. It is somewhat rare for the judicial system to consider a novel legal theory, but not entirely unheard of. (i.e. Brown v. Board of Education or Roe v. Wade.) If you believe in your position, in good faith, you can argue for its merits, and sometimes reason and logic can prevail over inertia.

Any injuries along with any related claims and damages may only be recovered from the workers compensation carrier. If the injury you sustained was on duty, your children may not file a lawsuit against the employer because any claim by them arises out of the injury that was on duty. They may not file a separate claim for personal injury.

Not unless they were injured. For example, by you bringing harmful chemicals home on your person from the workplace. But generally, no, they can't.