Examining A Common Work Injury: Slip And Fall
A slip and fall incident is actually directly categorized as a premises liability claim, which is a type of personal injury claim based on the defendant slipping or tripping on the property of another and, as a result, suffering some sort of injury. Someone who incurs an injury due to the negligence of the property owner in question is entirely entitled to compensation for their sustained damages from the accident.
Liability for slip and fall injures may arise based upon the defendants control or ownership of the premises where the injury occurred. For example, if a company rents their building for office space but does not own it, they still might be at fault for any and all accidents that occur due to safety violations which would be under their jurisdiction at the time of the incident in accordance with their exclusive control of the interior of the rented property. Whereas the buildings actual owner or landlord may be responsible for any bodily harm that comes from a slip and fall related injury that occurs outside the premises, such as injury from a trip and fall on the sidewalk or the parking lot.
Personal Injury In California
Personal injury law refers to one individual pursuing civil consequences against another individual who caused them an injury or illness. This can occur between two people or a person and an entity. The idea behind a personal injury claim is to compensate a victim for the expenses they would not have to face if an accident had not occurred.
California follows a pure comparative negligence law which means that a person at fault in an accident can still recover damages even if they were found to be at fault. For example, if an individual is found to be 30% at fault, they will only be liable for 30% of the damages.
How A Personal Injury Lawsuit Affects Health Care Funding
In most states, receiving proceeds from a personal injury lawsuit prevents you from being able to receive Medicaid. For example, if you take a personal injury settlement for an injury and the proceeds run out before you are fully recovered, you will not be able to use your states Medicaid program to continue paying for treatment. However, receiving a personal injury lawsuit payout will not affect your ability to get Social Security Disability Income temporarily or for the rest of your life.
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Keep Detailed Records About Your Treatment
Keep notes on your injury treatments and their effects. Recording your treatment helps to establish what harm you suffered due to injury. In addition, a detailed diary is vital if you have a chronic injury that worsens over time, such as a back injury from stooping at work. In those cases, records demonstrating how the injury progressed are critical.
Workers’ Comp & Personal Injury Lawyer In Walnut Creek Ca
Attorney Jonathan Brand is a straightforward and honest lawyer in central and northern California. Our attorney team shares60 years of combined experience and can us their legal experience, accumulated knowledge, and resources to fight for thecompensation you deserve. We also have the detailed understanding of both workers’ comp and personal injury laws in California to advise you as to which option is best for you. The amount of compensation you receive depends on whether or not you make the correct choice, so call our offices today for a consultation.
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- Worker Struck by Tree Trunk$3,787,502
Head and neck injury as a result of being hit by a tree trunk.
- Fall on the Job$2,626,750
Sheet metal worker falls on the job site and suffers back, neck, and knee injuries.
- Tractor Accident on the Job$500,000
Tractor accident results in a serious leg injury.
- Slip & Fall at Work$500,000
Slip and fall at work resulting in back surgery.
- Settlement$497,000
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Indianas Work Injury Lawyer
For over 26 years, Charles A. Carlock, workers compensation attorney, has helped Indiana’s workers hurt on the job receive wage loss benefits, medical treatment, and fair settlements. First, report your injury to your employer, then contact the Carlock Legal by or .
Carlock Legal has represented employees injured at work across Indiana – from Gary to Fort Wayne and Evansville to Lawrenceburg and everywhere in between. No matter if youre injured on a construction site, suffered manufacturing injuries, been involved in a farming accident, or sustained injuries from a truck driver accident, Charlie Carlock will help fight for your rights.
Legal Option Considerations In Pennsylvania
If youre involved in a workplace injury of any kind, youll want to consider the following in terms of better understanding your course for legal action:
- Who is the liable party or entity for your injury?
- Was the liable party your employer, a co-worker, or an unrelated third party?
- What are the injuries and damages you have suffered?
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Seek Medical Attention Immediately
While this may seem obvious after a serious injury, make sure to receive medical attention even if the injury appears minor. Often, what seems like a slight injury later turns into a chronically painful and limiting problem. In other cases, internal injuries may show symptoms at a later time. For non-emergencies, most insurance companies recommend seeking medical help within 72 hours.
The Difference In Damages
The major difference in damages between workers compensation claims and personal injury lawsuits is that you will not be entitled to pain and suffering benefits through workers compensation. Personal injury lawsuits allow you to pursue all the damages associated with your injury, which can include the following:
- Loss of consortium
Workers compensation will help you when it comes to benefits for your medical bills and permanent impairment costs, and youll also get compensation for any type of vocational rehabilitation that helps you get back to work or prepares you for a new career.
Another big difference in terms of damages includes the timeliness of benefits. This is because an employee will typically receive workers compensation benefits within a matter of days, but it may take months or even years to finalize a personal injury claim. Comp benefits can help an injured person get the treatment he or she needs and still have some income available while they attempt to recover. This can help an injured person stay afloat financially while he or she pursues a third-party personal injury case.
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Can I Ever Sue Someone For A Workplace Injury
There are certain limited situations when a personal injury claim is appropriate when the injury happened at work. Although the workers compensation system isnt based on fault, there are cases in which there is liability such as when a third party is involved.
For example, lets say you fell from a scaffold while working on a construction site. Here are your best options for recovery:
- Workers compensation: You fell because your foot slipped. Perhaps the scaffold or your shoe was wet, or maybe you just lost your footing. This would most likely be a workers compensation claim.
- Personal injury claim: Instead, what if you fell because the scaffold broke? The manufacturer indicated that the scaffold can hold 1,000 pounds of weight when used properly. You and the equipment being supported by the scaffold weigh far less than 1,000 pounds, yet it buckled under your weight because of faulty construction. In this instance, you might be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the manufacturer of the scaffold because the manufacturer was negligent in constructing the item properly for its intended purpose and caused your injury.
Types Of Workers Compensation Claims
Most states require workers compensation, meaning the responsibility rests on employers to provide it to their employees. These benefits are security blankets to help employees by covering medical bills, disability benefits, vocational rehabilitation, and funeral services. There are four types of workers compensation.
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Can You File A Personal Injury Claim After Being Hurt At Work
In most cases, you will be limited to filing a workers compensation claim after being hurt at work. However, there are certain exceptions to that rule.
For example, if you are hurt because of your employers gross negligence, that could make it a personal injury matter. Gross negligence could occur, for example, if you were required to climb without a harness or required to work in a small space with no ventilation system.
Extreme negligence on the part of a supplier or other party associated with your employer may also turn a workers compensation case into a personal injury case. Lets say that your employer always made safety a top priority while on the job, which meant that you always wore a harness while working at heights. However, if it snapped because it wasnt designed correctly, the manufacturer of that product could be liable for damages.
Scenarios Where A Person Could Have Both Work Comp & Personal Injury Claims
Dog Attacks a Delivery Driver
An example of a situation where a person could have both claims available to them is when an individual, who is a delivery driver, is hurt on a delivery due to a dog attack. This person can make a claim against their employers workers compensation insurance, but can also bring a claim against the owner of the dog.
Professional Driver in an Auto Accident
Another common situation is when a person whose job requires them to drive, like a bus driver, is involved in a car accident. In this scenario, the person can make a claim against the workers compensation insurance, as well as the individual at fault in the accident.
How Workers Compensation Benefits Affect Personal Injury Compensation
Making claims against both the workers compensation insurance and the at-fault party may sound like the injured person will receive double compensation for the same injury, but that is not the case.
Personal Injury Settlements Will Likely Reimburse Workers Comp Insurer
The Collateral Source Rule
Liens from Third Parties May Further Reduce a Personal Injury Award
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How Much Is Workers Compensation
In most states, workers compensation pays employees around two-thirds of their weekly wages, with specified minimum and maximum limits. The benefits typically last the duration of the disability, but some states limit the total amount employees can receive. Workers compensation also covers medical care expenses for work-related injuries and illnesses.
Is Your Injury Someones Fault
If your injury happened at work or while performing work-related duties, then youre eligible for workers compensation.
Your injury might be directly related to your job, like falling off a scaffold or a repetitive motion injury like carpal tunnel. It could also be the result of a condition in your workplace that isnt directly related to your job function, like tripping over an electrical cord or obstacle in a walkway.
The biggest difference between a personal injury lawsuit and a workers compensation claim is that no determination of fault is necessary to receive workers compensation benefits.
If the injury happened at work, its covered under workers compensation whether there was negligence or not. Period. In other words, if it happened at work, it doesnt matter who was at fault. Some accidents are just accidents.
For example, if a coworker left a box in the hallway and you tripped over it and got hurt, its possible that the person was negligent. But when you file a workers compensation claim, that doesnt matter.
Whether the injury was someones fault, your own fault, or no ones fault isnt an issue in the workers compensation system. As long as you can prove that your injury is related to your work or happened at work, you wont be asked to show who was at fault in order to receive benefits.
This system benefits both the employer and the injured employee:
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How Does Workers Compensation Differ From A Personal Injury Claim
The primary distinguishing factor between an injury claim and a workers compensation case is the need to prove fault. While personal injury runs on a fault-based system, you dont need to prove anyones fault in a workers compensation claim. Under work comp rules, all you need to prove is that you sustained work-related injuries. It doesnt even matter if your carelessness caused your injuries.
Meanwhile, in a personal injury case, you must prove the following elements:
- Breach of duty of care
Failure to prove any of the above elements can lead to a case dismissal under personal injury law.
Another significant difference between both legal actions is the types of damages you can claim. Personal injury claims award a more expansive compensation range, depending on what you can prove. For example, in a car accident claim, you can get economic, non-economic, and punitive damages. That includes compensation for injuries like pain and suffering, loss of consortium, mental anguish, etc.
Workers compensation has more limited possibilities when it comes to damages. Apart from specific weekly payments, work comp claimants can get compensation for vocational rehabilitation, medical bills, and permanent impairments benefits. However, they cannot claim certain benefits that personal injury claimants enjoy. For example, work comp claimants cant get punitive damages, lost future earnings, or compensation for pain and suffering.
Reporting A Personal Injury Event
If your workplace injury involves a third party, you or your attorney must put the third party on notice of your intent to file an injury claim. Most third-party claims will be filed with the at-fault partys liability insurance carrier.
Recall that an injured worker does not have to establish fault for a workers compensation claim. But personal injury claimants do, and theyll need evidence to show that a person or entity caused their injuries.
If you dont require immediate emergency medical care after your injury, try to collect evidence while still at the accident scene.
Evidence to help establish fault includes:
- Weather reports if the weather somehow contributed to your accident
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Can An Employer Become A Party To A Personal Injury Case
If you were hurt in an accident caused by someone driving a company vehicle when the crash occurred, the employer may be a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit. In some cases, this is because a company is likely to have greater financial resources than an individual employee from which to settle a case.
Therefore, an attorney may suggest including the employer in a lawsuit if it was negligent in some way. This could be the case if the attorney knew that a driver had been in a previous accident or drove while impaired. Of course, it will need to be established that the person who caused the crash was using the company vehicle for the companys benefit. Otherwise, the companys liability could be limited or nonexistent.
Contact Personal Injury And Workers Comp Lawyer Paul Giannetti
Work-related injuries are often more complex than other injuries, especially when third-party negligence is involved. If you believe your work injury was caused by the negligence of someone other than your employer or coworkers, you may have grounds for a lawsuit. Contact attorney Paul Giannetti at to learn more about the difference between workers comp and personal injury lawsuits and other legal matters.
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After An Injury Be Certain To Take The Following Actions:
Never assume you need no medical attention because the injury is too minor. Often, over the course of hours, days, or weeks, the true gravity of the injury becomes apparent. For example, an employee may fall at work and feel no immediate effects. However, over time, the employee’s back may begin to hurt and become a serious medical problem. If the employee neglects to report the injury and seek medical attention, then a claim for damages due to the fall may fail.
Review your workers compensation documents to understand the procedure for receiving medical attention. For example, many workers compensation policies mandate seeing a specific doctor. If this is the case, you will need to schedule an appointment with this physician immediately. Later in the process, you can seek a second opinion if you disagree with the results, but you must see the plan-mandated doctor.
Bear in mind that seeing the doctor is to your benefit. You pay nothing out of pocket and have your injury examined promptly. In addition, it creates a medical record that establishes your claim.
What Is Workers Compensation
Workers compensation is a program administered at a state level that helps pay for lost wages and medical bills due to an injury sustained while on the job. In this situation, the worker does not need to prove that their employer or any co-worker was negligent for their injuries to get benefits. As long as the worker was injured while doing their job, they qualify for workers compensation benefits. The only exceptions to this are crew members of ships and rail workers.
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Filing A Personal Injury Lawsuit
The process to file a personal injury lawsuit, however, is much different than a workers compensation claim.
In Nevada, a personal injury lawsuit must be filed in Nevada court. The victim will serve the at-fault party with the lawsuit, and the at-fault party will have the opportunity to file his or her own documents with the court.
Records may be requested and depositions will be conducted to gather evidence in preparation for trial. The case may go to trial before a jury or settle privately before the case reaches court.