Do I have a lawsuit for damages since I have had problems from a mask I was required to wear?

Full question:

At my employer, I was told that I had to go on a tour of a steel plant. Due to my mild asthma condition, I asked them to provide me with a mask. The mask did not come in a plastic container, but I was told it was clean. The next day I broke out in horrible acne and have been breaking out ever since I wore that mask. It has been a month and a half since the incident. Is this something I could sue for emotional and physical damages? I was so broken out that I was unable to even see my family over Christmas Holiday. I have not been able to resume my normal activities. I feel very scarred from this experience and am sure that mask was not clean.

• Category: Personal Injury
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Ohio

Answer:

In order to succeed in a personal injury claim, the plaintiff must show, among other things, an injury, that the defendant's acts were the proximate cause of the injury and that the risk of the injury was foreseeable to the defendant. Typically, the cause of a medical condition is established by expert witness testimony and the chances of succeeding in a personal injury claim are improved if the plaintiff seeks medical care promptly after the injury, so that a medical record may be used as evidence of the cause. A delay or failure to seek medical care will reduce the perception of the seriousness of the injury and widen the door to claims of intervening or contributing causes.

Some of the factors that may be considered in determining foreseeability, among others, would be whether the employer had reason to know of the risk contained in the item and/or the employee's sensitivity to injury. Whether the item was a danger will be judged by whether a reasonable person should have perceived the danger. The fact that the item was requested by employee may be a factor considered and the employee may be held to have waived the risk if the item is shown to be foreseaably dangerous.

Expert testimony required to prove causation, etc. is very costly. The expenses of litigation need to be balanced against the likelihood and amount of an expected recovery. The recovery for a temporary and inexpensively curable disfigurement will typically be much less than that of a permanent, incurable, or expensive to treat condition.

I am prohibited from giving a legal opinion, this service provides information of a general legal nature. I suggest consulting a medical professional if you haven't already done so, to get a professional diagnosis and medical opinion as to the nature and cause of the condition.