injured at work by 3rd party

[anyeurysm]

What is the name of your state? NY

i work at a local pizzeria, and every monday morning a (tractor trailer) delivery truck arrives with our stuff for the week, every monday a coworker and i unload this truck, we unload it from the ground, as the driver unloads it from the truck (he brings items to the end of the truck and we take them inside) well in these particular trucks, the loads, and pallets are seperated by these long divider bars made of heavy steel, one of these bars weighs about 30 lbs. and is approx 10 ft long, while we were unloading the truck this morning, the driver took the divider bar and placed it so it was vertically resting against the inside wall of the trailer and only a few feet from the back of the truck, now as the driver was maneuvering a pallet jack inside the trailer, i turned around and was looking the other way, and the driver knocked the divider bar over, causing it to fall out of the truck and strike me in the head, i got a laceration on the top of my head as well as a concussion, the doctors dont how bad it is yet, but i took a cat scan today and will go over the results with the doctor tomorrow,my questions are:

1: who should i sue, the drivers company, my work, both?
2: how serious is this case?
3:what kind of settlement am i entitled to? how do i figure what is fair compensation?

 

[Ramoth]

Since you were injured at work, your ONLY recourse is Worker's Compensation. Make sure your employer has filed a claim. WC will pay your medical bills, and reimburse you for a portion of your missed wages (although there is a waiting period before this kicks in). If you are permanently disabled to any degree as a result of this injury, you can receive a settlement based in part on the degree of disability.

But you can forget about suing anyone. It's not allowed in this case.

 

[Beth3]

Ramoth is correct as it applies to your employer. However most if not all States allow for a cause of action if there is third party liability - in this case, the trucking company. For example, if you were injured on the job due to a faulty piece of equipment, you cannot sue your employer but you may be able to sue the manufacturer of the equipment IF they were negligent in some regard.

Frankly, since you're alert and able to post on the internet, it does not appear your injuries are very serious. Consequently even IF you could prove that the driver/trucking company were negligent, the cost of pursuing litigation would likely FAR outweigh any damages you could claim. If you had a serious head injury, you'd be in-patient in the hospital.

 

[anyeurysm]

i dont understand how im not allowed to sue the driver or the the drivers company, it was negligent to stand the pole upright so close to the edge, of the back of the truck. he should have just layed it down on the floor, or placed it deeper within the truck, is this negligence? i think it is, but that is why im here, i need your help. my doctor has listed me as totally disabled and i am not to return to work until he says i can, no i am not life or death in a hospital bed, but i do have a pretty serious concussion, serious enough for my doctor to tell me im "totally disabled"... i dont see what your point is with me being able to post on the internet, how does that mean im not seriously hurt?

does it matter that i wear a shaved head and now i have this huge cosmetic scar on top of my head, does that not count for anything?... i know this isnt a huge case or anything but i definetly feel i am entitled to at least a few thousand dollars.

pain and suffering??? this doesnt count in work accidents??? even when it wasnt even my works fault, i was in a safe enviroment, ive been doing the job for 4 yrs now, without incident but, this was a new deliveryman, and either he wasnt properly trained on how to do his job, or he is incompetent to do it! so isnt it technically isnt it the driver, and his companies fault???


who is at fault here?


any help or insight is greatly appreciated.

 

[Ramoth]

anyeurysm, I don't see any negligence in the actions of the truck driver. It was an accident, pure and simple. You are free, however, to contact a personal injury attorney and ask about filing suit against the driver and his employer.

As far as your employer's liability, that is covered 100% by WC. ANd quite frankly, while your concussion makes you 100% disabled NOW, that is not a permanent disability, and it's way too early to be deciding that you're going to sue everyone and his mother because you have a shaved head. Take some time and see what the healing process is, and then decide if you need to sue.

 

[Beth3]

Worker's compensation regulations do not allow for "pain and suffering." If you are left with a disfiguring scar (and it's far too soon to tell what kind of scar you will be left with), you will be eligible to receive a permanent partial disabilty settlement.

If you want to know whether you can sue the truck driver and/or his employer, you're going to have to consult with an attorney. As I said though, given what appears to be the relatively minor injury you suffered (in the scheme of things), chances are that even if you can pursue a claim for third party liability, it won't be worthwhile financially given the expense of litigation and legal representation. An attorney will have to advise you on this however.

 

[anyeurysm]

ive spoken with an attorney, we are proceeding with what he called "third party action" he says it will be difficult to determine how much the case is possibly worth, he said that most doctors take the wait and see approach to my type of injury.

i still suffer from migraines, blurred vision, "flashes" of light that pass through my left eye, sleep disturbance, dizzy spells, intense numbness and tingling, stress, anxiety, depression

i am still out of work, i seen a neurologist and have an eeg scheduled, the trouble is i dont agree with the medication he prescribed me, if i refuse to take the suggested medication, can this affect the outcome of my case at all?

 

[JETX]

Since you have gotten some incorrect information in responses, lets try this again.....

"who should i sue, the drivers company, my work, both?"
*** Your post isn't clear as to who the truck or driver was. If they are a part of your employer, then your rights to take action against the employer may be waived by the employer having 'workmens compensation'.
If the driver/truck are a third party, then you may consider taking legal action against them.

"how serious is this case?"
*** Do you mean how 'valid'?? If so, then that would depend on a review of the FULL facts to see if your injuries can be linked to their drivers negligence.

"what kind of settlement am i entitled to? how do i figure what is fair compensation?"
*** It is WAY too early to even be considering that.... and no way that any of us can determine since we have NOT reviewed the facts or injuries. However, I agree with cbg..... you don't seem to have mentioned ANY injuries in your thread that would warrant any compensation.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

"I don't see any negligence in the actions of the truck driver. It was an accident, pure and simple."

============================================

My comment:

Ramoth, I don't understand that statement. Would you please explain it? Also, would you please explain your definition of "negligence"?

When explaining, think of an intersecton car incident.

Additionally, I never ask a question to which I don't already know the answer.

IAAL

 

[anyeurysm]

the trucking company is in noway affiliated with my employer, they are a food distributor that my employer buys from.

and i dont understand why my injuries dont warrant compensation,(lacerations and brain injuries dont count or something?) i have already spoken with a lawyer, and we are proceeding with a case.

 

[Bigfoot]

And make sure you understand the financial consequences if you don't win in court.

 

[Lowrider000]

WC DR Messed Up

I'm from Tennessee.I got hurt on the job.I was running a lathe and a piece of steel shot in my hand so i couldn't see it.My hand started bleeding and then it swells up and my thumb was numb when u touch it,So the company sent me to a WC Dr,The Dr clean the cut up and said everything is ok and i told the Dr that everything thing isn't ok,My hand is swollen and it hurts like hell and my thumb is numb.He told me the numbness was due to the swelling and that was why it was aching.So he told me to go back to work without restrictions when i knew i couldn't do the job the way my hand was.I tried to tell him but he wouldn't listen.So i went back to the company and told them they had 2 choices...1 to send me to another WC dr or I was going to my primary Dr.So the guy at work called the WC dr that i went to and he told him that i didn't need any restriction and that my hand was ok.So he told me to go to my primary Dr which i did.I told my primary Dr how i got hurt,he then asked me if i had a tetanus shot,I told him yes but i don't know when,so he said to be on the safe side he would give me another one,The WC Dr didn't ask me about a tetanas shot.My primary Dr said my hand was swollen up real bad,he asked me if i think any steel was still in it,I told him i dunno so he said he was going to xray it and sure enough there was a large piece of steel in my hand.My primary Dr referred me to an Ortho.he looked at my hand and the X-rays and told me that i had to have surgury to get the steel out and the reason my thumb was numb was because the steel went into a nerve.Can I sue the WC Dr that messed up

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Lowrider -

Please start your own thread with your problem. This thread belongs to the original writer.

IAAL