Ex-Employee Beef

[ozbound]

We have an ex-employee who claims to have injured himself on-the-job. He comes in once in awhile to visit and that's all he can talk about, and it is obvious he intends to sue the ocmpany.

What happened was, a couple years ago, Ex was standing on one of the office chairs trying to adjust one of the overhead lights and he fell off the chair.  I happened to be standing right there (he almost fell on me! ) and my opinion is that #1) he was being a bit foolhardy--I would never stand on an office chair that has wheels! and #2) he did not fall hard enough to sustain the injuries he is trying to claim (herniated disc, sore arm, etc.)

This morning, Ex approached me and asked if I would sign a notarized statement that I saw him fall. I told him I'd "think about it," but my first instinct is to not get involved in this at all. After all, although I did, technically, see him fall, I'm not sure I agree with his claim.  I also think he holds a grudge since he was let go from the company.  I talked with my supervisor and she agreed with me.  Does anyone here have a take on this? How can I put it most politely, when he asks again, that I don't feel comfortable doing that?

[dharma]

If it happened a couple of years ago, why is he waiting all this time to sue? Isn't there a statute of limitations?

[ozbound]

I don't know but I was in a similar kind of situation a few years ago; my DH and I were involved in a car accident--their truck hit our Toyota, it was mostly their fault but it was one of those close calls, and two years later they came back and sued for alleged "back damage" to one of the passengers that had obviously started way before that accident--but they won! (Thank goodness for insurance!)

[jadegrniiz]

My thought is that if you are 99% sure he's just holding a grudge for being fired and is being frivolous with a lawsuit, then my advice is to wait for a subpoena before discussing it by way of legal document. I'd be afraid of the guy taking a statement you prepared, and waving it in your boss' face. Not good.

I would tell him, "I won't sign a statement, but you can have your attorney subpoena me if they need witness testimony."  This guarantees that anything you have to say on the matter is legal - it tells your boss you only testified because you had to, and your statement cannot be used inappropriately by the X employee.

I would also pull him aside and say, "Look, X - You aren't doing yourself any favors hanging around here acting all put out over history. If you are really hurt, and are really considering litigation, then you should really consider keeping your distance.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

Jadegrniiz
Peer Moderator

[countrigal]

You could also tell the Ex-employee that if you did sign anything stating what you saw, it would include the fact that he was standing on a rolling office chair in order to change the lightbulb and that it might not be of any help to his case, as it shows him being negligent in his own safety.  You could do this in an apologetic way, being sure to say that you couldn't sign anything and make it official without it having all the pertinent facts.  It would go against your nature to do otherwise.  This might convince him to leave you out of it, since you obviously would not be a help to his case.

CountriGal
Peer Moderator

[lioness]

I agree with countrigal. He's only asking you to sign an affidavit stating you saw him fall, which you did. If it goes any further, you are within your rights to amend said affidavit before signing it. If you are uncomfortable with the whole thing, just tell him you'd rather not get involved. And your supervisor is only thinking about the company, not your discomfort. I've seen this situation more than once, including one where the supervisor was the one asked to sign the document and he lied about the incident to make himself look better to the company. Not saying your supervisor would lie, just that she would most likely prefer you not get involved for reasons other than your discomfort.

Lioness, Queen of the Jungle