Injured at School, Do I have a case?

[bakerchic55]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arizona

I work in a lab for credit at a state university, and one day while working (I was cleaning glassware for the professor I worked under) a beaker fell and shattered which ended up cutting my finger. The lab didn't practice any safety protocol other than giving me a band aid from a first aid kit. The band aid ended up not being sterile and about 4 days later I ended up in the hospital with a horrible infection in the cut finger and had to have emergency surgery. During surgery they found out that the glass had cut through two tendons and required another surgery, with a possible third surgery after healing. My hand is permanently injured as a result, my finger will never have the same range of motion which is pretty dreadful because it is my dominant hand as well as I wanted to have a career in either medicine or research which utilizes a lot of intricate hand movements. My medical bills totaled 17k for the two surgeries as well as hospital stay, my insurance may adjust that to a lower amount though, they're still working on it. I'm a college student and I'm not technically employed by the college I just work in the lab in order to receive credit and grade. Do I have a case?

 

[ecmst12]

Well, I see you manipulated the facts. What really happened is YOU dropped the beaker, so it was your negligence that led to your injury, right?

 

[bakerchic55]

I actually did not drop the glass, if you've been in a lab you would know that it is literally filled with glassware, and if I dropped it I most likely wouldn't have injured my finger, when the beaker fell instinct was to put my hand down and there was broken class in that place. I also would have stated that I dropped the glass if I had dropped it. Thanks for the helpful reply.

 

[ecmst12]

How did it break if you did not drop it? You were cleaning the glassware, right? I mean, common sense tells you not to put your hand down on broken glass.

 

[sandyclaus]

In school labs, beakers are known to fall and shatter all the time.

If you expect the school to be liable for your medical expenses, then you will have to prove that the school intentionally caused the beaker to fall, or was negligent in some way to cause it to fall. In addition, you would have to prove that a REASONABLE person would have been injured in much the same way that you were by the shattering glass (i.e. putting THEIR hand down in a place where the broken glass had fallen).

Of course, the school also isn't required to provide you on-site medical care, either. They provided you with a first-aid kit. It was up to you to examine your injury and determine if further medical care was required - and if it was, you had the duty to mitigate your damages by seeking prompt and appropriate medical attention.

I know if it was me, and I saw how deep the wounds were (since you claim it was cut down to the tendon), I sure would have paid closer attention to the potential for infection by NOT leaving a band-aid on it for 4 days, and cleaned and re-dressed it frequently. I also would not have waited so long to be seen by a doctor to have it treated.

I'm not seeing liability here on the part of the school. I am ALSO seeing that you contributed to the situation by not treating it soon enough, and not exercising proper wound care in the first place.

Guess you'll just have to ask mom and dad to help you with those medical bills, or get a job to pay for them yourself.

 

[bakerchic55]

Not trying to argue, but just want to clear up some facts

1. I didn't leave a band aid on it for 4 days, the cut became initially infected due to the first band aid I was given by the lab professor. I did everything correctly (ie. flushing the wound and dressing it daily with clean bandages) however since the cut was in the bend of my finger there was no way of telling that it had cut through the tendon since I still had movement.I have common sense so I treated the wound as it appeared to be, after having my lab professor look at it I didn't think anything of it until I woke up 4 days later and could no longer bend it and immediately went to the hospital. The first aid kid that I used was out dated (band aids being out of date and not being sterile) which was the cause of infection/the labs fault for not providing an up to date first aid kit.

2. It wasn't a clean cut since I was cut by glass.

3. Schools actually are liable for any student injured while working in their lab, or so I was told the first day of working in lab as long as you are in working between the hours of 8-5 (normal business hours). Again that is just what I was told when I began working there.

4. I have a job and mommy doesn't help me with anything.

 

[swalsh411]

I'm sorry you were hurt but you did have a duty to mitigate damages and it appears you may have failed to do so. Are you saying this cut was healing properly and did not appear to be anything more than a common cut until after 4 days?

I'm sure a personal injury attorney would offer you a free initial consult to see if you have a case. Be prepared to answer these types of questions though.

 

[ecmst12]

It sounds to me like your tendon was not cut right away. It sounds like there was a sliver of glass still in the wound and that worked its way in and cut your tendon days after your original injury. Which means, if you had gone to the doctor/hospital immediately after this happened and had the wound cleaned out by a doctor who could have found and removed the slivers before they had done additional damage to your fingers, you would still have your full range of motion. The cause of your damage was your negligence in putting your hand down on broken glass and further negligence in failing to get immediate medical attention.

The thing that introduced bacteria into your wound was the glass itself, not any bandaid you put on it. As long as the wrapper is still sealed, the bandaid is still sterile. The glass, on the other hand, is not, and you had a foreign object in your hand which is what prevented it from healing.

All that said, have you ASKED anyone at the school about helping with your medical bills? I'm not sure if this would be considered a workers comp situation since you were not actually an employee, but it's definitely still worth making an inquiry about.

 

[Adam G]

I think the school was negligent in giving you the tained bandage, but it's almost like they did you a favor by doing that. If your finger hadn't gotten infected, would they have opened up your finger and found the glass shards?

It sounds like a worker's comp case to me. You obviously aren't missing out on any pay but any time you have surgery as a result of a work injury that counts for some percentage of disability in that particular body part. That's how it works in Illinois, anyway.

I'd recommend finding a local workers comp attorney and getting some advice.

 

[CSO286]

How do you intend to proved the first bandage was tainted?
Did you file a first report of injury upon getting cut?

 

[Zigner]

I think the school was negligent in giving you the tained bandage, but it's almost like they did you a favor by doing that. If your finger hadn't gotten infected, would they have opened up your finger and found the glass shards?

It sounds like a worker's comp case to me. You obviously aren't missing out on any pay but any time you have surgery as a result of a work injury that counts for some percentage of disability in that particular body part. That's how it works in Illinois, anyway.

I'd recommend finding a local workers comp attorney and getting some advice.

You really ought to use this forum as a place to read. Don't give advice

 

[Adam G]

You really ought to use this forum as a place to read. Don't give advice

My eight years of practice obviously pales in comparison to your insight. Care to elaborate?

 

[Zigner]

My eight years of practice obviously pales in comparison to your insight. Care to elaborate?

Are you claiming to be an attorney?

ETA: I see this was already covered.

I would like to understand why you believe this would be a WC case...

 

[ecmst12]

Adam has already been checked out by M.

However it's not clear that worker's comp applies here since OP was not an employee but a student.

 

[Adam G]

Are you claiming to be an attorney?

I'm not claiming anything. I've been licensed in Illinois since 2004. The mods contacted me and I provided my credentials.

I see you have 41,000 posts on a legal advice message board. Do you know anything?