If an illegal person living in the US gets injured at work can they sue their employer?

Question

I'm wondering bc a friend of mine needed some help at the construction site hes currently working in and he gave one of this guy( a friend of a friend of his family) a chance to work for him for a few days (paint only the first floor of a building)... the reason my friend gave this guy a chance to work was bc this guy was desperate for work ...my friend told this guy and some other ppl at the construction site to only paint the first floor bc he had hired a professional to paint the top floors...and then my friend had an errand so he had to leave the construction site for a few hrs....wen he came back it turned out the guy someone got to the top floors to paint (im not sure if he used the ladder or something else) but he ended up falling 2-3 floors and landing on concrete....he had a small head injury and appearantly he cant feel his legs (im not I'm clear exactly wat else is wrong w. the guy) ...but now it seems like the guys family and friends are encouraging him to take legal action against my friend, who in turn is worried bc he doesnt doesn't ton of money....so my question is obvious can the other guy really do anything against my friend? legally? can u refer to any specific laws? if it helps this happened in california.... im asking cuz my friends is really stressed about the whole situation and i wana get a gist of how bad the situation legally really is against him to hopefully be of some confort to him. My friend was just trying to be a nice guy (the guy also had told my friend he had exp painting and thats why my friend took him also , but after the incident i doubt he had much) ...

Answer 1

Yes a friend's friend did almost the same thing.he went after the company for workers compensation.the next day the boss had ICE at the job site and everyone got picked up.I dont know if he won the settlement or not but the company sure won.this tends to send the message "work for me but since your illegal dont expact to get insured and if you sue me i will call ICE".

Answer 2

He should receive nothing, he is a criminal invader. your friend should have learned from this not to hire incompetent illegals to do any work at all. Call ICE and turn his sorry butt in. If they get a crooked enough lawyer they can sue.

Report and Deport!!

Answer 3

Yes they can, the American employers still have to follow American labor laws even if they hired illegals. Hiring illegals is not a loophole that lets them circumvent the law. All employers without exception are required to have Workers Compensation Insurance; that includes the housewife who hires the maid. There are many illegals who've collected settlements and there are thousands of Comp Attorneys who hire people to outreach to the illegal population, a typical settlement is three to five thousand dollars which is a fortune to them. The Attorneys are awarded court costs which is typically $300. per hour; the cases drag on for three to five years and the illegals usually disappear if they are counter sued with Workers Comp Fraud. There are, however, legitimate cases and then the employer pays through the nose. As a side note, most people who employ illegals do not carry Comp Insurance and the Judges come down on them heavily.

Answer 4

It sounds like a genuine injury.  He is entitled to workman's comp.  If your friend was negligent in operating an unsafe worksite, he can sue.  His immigration status is irrelevant to his entitlement to the protection of labor laws.  ICE isn't likely to do anything one way or another.  This is just another worker injury.  It happens all the time and his insurance should take care of it.  

Answer 5

When some one is injured at work, they should be compensated. They probably will get a lawyer to proceed.

Answer 6

Yes Ive been here in these country 10 years i get social benefits and don't work. Americans is grat placed too live.

Answer 7

Yes and then they can get deported.

Answer 8

SURE JUST CALL ICE THEY'LL BE RIGHT OVER TO HELP HIM.! HIRE SOME MORE ILLEGAL ALIENS DUMBASS  

Answer 9

This is why you don't hire illegals! Ugh. Deport! d**n it!  

Answer 10

Regardless of his legal status he needs to be compensated for his injuries and suffering. That is why construction companies have to have insurance. Yes, he can sue the company and more than likely will win.

Answer 11

Yes, illegals can sue, civil lawsuits have nothing to do with immigration or even with the criminal code. Of course you can also turn them in for being in the country illegally which you should, he'll definitely have a harder time showing up at the courthouse when he's been deported.