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Injured at work, not provded safety harness and feel like I got screwed

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jeremywrags

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oklahoma

Disclaimer: I am asking this on behalf of a friend but the facts stated are true, he has expressed his disappointment to me with his outcome and feels like he just has to live with it. I disagree!


Over a year ago I was seriously injured on the job. Nearly lost my foot and now have two bad knees that will need replacing, sore back and neck. To make a long story short I was about 20ft up in a bucket truck trimming trees when a vehicle struck me doing 75MPH. I was not provided with any sort of safety harness and was thrown from the bucket and bounced a few times causing my injuries.

The driver for some reason only has $50K coverage and after about a year or so of going to Dr's and dealing with my workmans comp claim I will only be receiving $58K total for the incident. To add salt to the wound they want to pay this out over a three year period.

I should also mention that I work for the State of Oklahoma and after my "Recovery" I was offered a cush job with benefits, not great pay but medical for me and my wife.

Now all that said here is what I have lost as a result of this.

1. Side business mowing lawns making on average $40K per year
2. The ability to ride motorcycles like I used to, this is passion and it's gone
3. I am building a home and was planning on doing a lot of the work myself but am now unable to lift or be on my feet for more than a few hours before I am in a state of discomfort\pain
4. I planned on retiring in the next 5 years but now I am not sure I will be able to afford to do this.

So my question is: Does it sound like I am getting screwed here? I feel like I have lost out an a lot to only receive $58K compensation. I am a pretty moral guy in my opinion and I was not expecting millions upon millions like I know some would but I was hoping to at least get enough that I would not have to return to work. I mean $58K is what I could make in a good year mowing lawns and now I can't even do that.

I don't want to rake anyone over the coals and I will not sue the driver, he has nothing and suing him would do nothing more than ruin his life more than it already is but I think there should be some responsibility placed on the employer here for not providing the appropriate safety equipment.

What are your thoughts? What would you have expected out of a case like this?

I know there is a lot of detail that could make a difference here and I gave a short summary but I am hoping someone with good Morals and Legal knowledge can interpret this and give me some good advice.
 


quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oklahoma

Over a year ago I was seriously injured on the job. Nearly lost my foot and now have two bad knees that will need replacing, sore back and neck. To make a long story short I was about 20ft up in a bucket truck trimming trees when a vehicle struck me doing 75MPH. I was not provided with any sort of safety harness and was thrown from the bucket and bounced a few times causing my injuries.

The driver for some reason only has $50K coverage and after about a year or so of going to Dr's and dealing with my workmans comp claim I will only be receiving $58K total for the incident. To add salt to the wound they want to pay this out over a three year period.

I should also mention that I work for the State of Oklahoma and after my "Recovery" I was offered a cush job with benefits, not great pay but medical for me and my wife.

Now all that said here is what I have lost as a result of this.

1. Side business mowing lawns making on average $40K per year
2. The ability to ride motorcycles like I used to, this is passion and it's gone
3. I am building a home and was planning on doing a lot of the work myself but am now unable to lift or be on my feet for more than a few hours before I am in a state of discomfort\pain
4. I planned on retiring in the next 5 years but now I am not sure I will be able to afford to do this.

So my question is: Does it sound like I am getting screwed here? I feel like I have lost out an a lot to only receive $58K compensation. I am a pretty moral guy in my opinion and I was not expecting millions upon millions like I know some would but I was hoping to at least get enough that I would not have to return to work. I mean $58K is what I could make in a good year mowing lawns and now I can't even do that.

I don't want to rake anyone over the coals and I will not sue the driver, he has nothing and suing him would do nothing more than ruin his life more than it already is but I think there should be some responsibility placed on the employer here for not providing the appropriate safety equipment.

What are your thoughts? What would you have expected out of a case like this?

I know there is a lot of detail that could make a difference here and I gave a short summary but I am hoping someone with good Morals and Legal knowledge can interpret this and give me some good advice.
jeremywrags, I think if you had left out the "good Morals" part of your last sentence, you would probably have had a response sooner. ;)

If the aerial lift your friend was using did not have a body harness or a restraining belt, the employer violated OSHA safety regulations. http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=10758

The statute of limitations for personal injury claims (the time within which you must file a suit) is 2 years from the date of injury in Oklahoma.

Because of the severity of the injury, I believe your friend would benefit from meeting with a personal injury attorney in his area of Oklahoma and discuss all facts, including the employer's offer of continued employment.

I wish your friend good luck.
 
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justalayman

Senior Member
My question is;

Why did your friend use the lift without wearing a harness?

In every training seminar given and in every operators manual, which is required by law to be present on the machine and in the myriad stickers placed on every boom lift the operators are instructed to not use the lift without a proper safety harness and lanyard.

While I don't attempt to minimize the employers obligation to provide safety equipment, somewhere in life one has to accept responsibility for one's actions. Your friend was surely aware of the requirement to wear ppe and failed to do so. His actions are the real reason he was injured as badly as he was.
 

quincy

Senior Member
My question is;

Why did your friend use the lift without wearing a harness?

In every training seminar given and in every operators manual, which is required by law to be present on the machine and in the myriad stickers placed on every boom lift the operators are instructed to not use the lift without a proper safety harness and lanyard.

While I don't attempt to minimize the employers obligation to provide safety equipment, somewhere in life one has to accept responsibility for one's actions. Your friend was surely aware of the requirement to wear ppe and failed to do so. His actions are the real reason he was injured as badly as he was.
I am actually surprised, if the employer is the State of Oklahoma, that the bucket truck was not properly equipped.
 

jeremywrags

Junior Member
My question is;

Why did your friend use the lift without wearing a harness?

In every training seminar given and in every operators manual, which is required by law to be present on the machine and in the myriad stickers placed on every boom lift the operators are instructed to not use the lift without a proper safety harness and lanyard.

While I don't attempt to minimize the employers obligation to provide safety equipment, somewhere in life one has to accept responsibility for one's actions. Your friend was surely aware of the requirement to wear ppe and failed to do so. His actions are the real reason he was injured as badly as he was.
Hi There,

I cannot answer that questions. I agree that he probably should have been wearing a harness but the fact is that he was not provided with one nor was he provided any specific instruction on the safety aspects surrounding the lift truck.

Also not that this makes it right but a few months after his accident happened a similar incident happened where the operator was wearing the harness and was killed probably because he was not thrown clear of the wreck. So perhaps not wearing the PPE saved his life but caused him to suffer bad injuries.

In any case, I think a consultation with a different lawyer is probably going to be his best course of action. Now I just have to convince him to do so...
 

quincy

Senior Member
Hi There,

I cannot answer that questions. I agree that he probably should have been wearing a harness but the fact is that he was not provided with one nor was he provided any specific instruction on the safety aspects surrounding the lift truck.

Also not that this makes it right but a few months after his accident happened a similar incident happened where the operator was wearing the harness and was killed probably because he was not thrown clear of the wreck. So perhaps not wearing the PPE saved his life but caused him to suffer bad injuries.

In any case, I think a consultation with a different lawyer is probably going to be his best course of action. Now I just have to convince him to do so...
Yes, I think trying to convince your friend to seek out another attorney for a review of the accident and the facts surrounding it is a good idea.

There have been car accidents where it has been suggested that wearing a seat belt might have led to more serious injuries, or death, than not wearing one might have - but the odds are so slim that one will actually benefit from the failure to wear one in a car accident that wearing a seat belt is the smarter choice. The same goes for safety harnesses.

Good luck to your friend, and to you in your attempts to get the friend to investigate his situation more thoroughly with an attorney's review.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
I cannot answer that questions. I agree that he probably should have been wearing a harness but the fact is that he was not provided with one nor was he provided any specific instruction on the safety aspects surrounding the lift truck.
Now it's a lift truck?

in case that doesn't make sense, a lift truck in typical usage is a fork lift.

you described your friend as using a bucket truck. Very different vehicles.

but regardless, a bucket truck is required to be marked with stickers that state a harness must be used. There is also a manual required to be available where it too states a harness must be used.

Yes, often times neither are present, especially on older equipment where an employer doesn't bother to comply with the laws in place.

If your friend new or felt he should be using a harness, he should have refused to use the bucket lift until such time he was provided with one or at least told to purchase one.







Also not that this makes it right but a few months after his accident happened a similar incident happened where the operator was wearing the harness and was killed probably because he was not thrown clear of the wreck. So perhaps not wearing the PPE saved his life but caused him to suffer bad injuries.
Unless the person in your anecdote was less than 15 feet from the ground, he could have fallen out of the bucket and hung high enough such that a car could not have hit him. It would have required the truck to roll for him to ever hit the ground, or the boom break. A lanyard allows for a 6 foot fall.


sorry no, not going to buy it. The threshold of death is generally considered to be around 20 feet. You can be killed at a lower height and you can survive a higher fall all depending on the circumstances but generally speaking, 20 feet is the limit where it is more likely than not you will die if you fall from that height. Your anecdote does nothing to minimize the need and requirement for a harness when using a bucket lift all the time...period.



In any case, I think a consultation with a different lawyer is probably going to be his best course of action. Now I just have to convince him to do so..
while I am berating him via you for not wearing a harness, yes, an employer is negligent if they do not demand an employee use one where it is required. Yes, he should most definitely speak with another attorney.

I was just trying to make the point that a person must be willing to be responsible for their own safety. If they don't, often times an employer can be negligent and not demand the employee be safe either.
 

commentator

Senior Member
As for getting any more money from worker's comp, that's not going to happen. There are tables that set up exactly what you can get for exactly what type of injury. And no more. You may have lost your chance to carry on with your side job, ride your motorcycles, or all those other things you mention, but Worker's Comp is set in concrete. It's not a discretionary amount that you get based on argument or jury decision. It's a set thing based on the injuries you had, medical evidence, and the state tables.

The only place you might get more compensation for your injuries is related to the OSHA violation. Within two years. And I suspect that your original attorney looked at that and decided the chances weren't good. But go on, have another consultation with an attorney, it may be informative.
 
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quincy

Senior Member
As for getting any more money from worker's comp, that's not going to happen. There are tables that set up exactly what you can get for exactly what type of injury. And no more. You may have lost your chance to carry on with your side job, ride your motorcycles, or all those other things you mention, but Worker's Comp is set in concrete. It's not a discretionary amount that you get based on argument or jury decision. It's a set thing based on the injuries you had, medical evidence, and the state tables.

The only place you might get more compensation for your injuries is related to the OSHA violation. Within two years. And I suspect that your original attorney looked at that and decided the chances weren't good. But go on, have another consultation with an attorney, it may be informative.
I agree with you on the workers compensation, commentator. However, if the employer knowingly used unsafe equipment (and I think it is reasonable to think that a bucket truck without the OSHA-required safety features is unsafe equipment), the employer can be held civilly (or criminally) liable for the injuries suffered by jeremywrags' friend. The friend is not (necessarily) limited to workers compensation.

The employer cannot rely on workers compensation, in other words, to escape his own liability for the employee's injury, if he did not provide his employee with a safe workplace. The employer knew (or should have known) that operating a bucket truck without a safety harness was unsafe and was in violation of OSHA.

And, of course, there is the driver who ran into the truck that resulted in the fall.

That is why an attorney review in this situation seems to make sense (although an attorney is not necessary in many workplace injury cases). There is more than workers compensation to be considered when you have an injury of the sort suffered by jeremywrags' friend.

That said, any legal action that might be considered by the friend must be weighed VERY carefully against the "cush job with benefits" he was already offered by the employer.
 
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