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pacer01

Guest
What is the name of your state? Virginia

Recently I was loading some pallets onto one of our trucks here at work and when i backing out of the truck our loading dock collapsed(it is one that moves up and down to accomadate different size trucks). The Big Joe(motorized pallet jack) that wieghs 2500 lbs flipped bak and almost fell on top of me, it grazed my shoulder. I was not hurt but if it did fall back on me it probably could have killed me. My question is this: It turns out that the dock was due for routine maintenance that no one has been doing, and the reason it collapsed is that it had a broken part. Is there any negligence here? It is a shot in the dark but i was just wondering, cause the thing could of killed me if i didnt get out of the way

Thanks
 


Beth3

Senior Member
Here is the answer to your question: "I was not hurt." You cannot sue an entity for something that didn't happen. Even if you had been hurt you still couldn't sue your employer even if you could demonstrate they were negligent in the maintence of the equipment. Worker's compensation is your sole remedy.

Depending on the circumstances, sometimes third party liability can be established and the original manufacturer of a piece of equipment can be sued if they were negligent in some regard but you cannot sue your employer if you are injured at work.

If you believe there is an unsafe condition at work, contact OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration.)
 

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