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Tabatha86

New member
I reside in Alabama. I need legal advice on what to do. This is what happened: On December 3rd, my boyfriend fell off a ladder at work and fractured his temporal bone, sinus cavity, maxillary bones, 5 rips, ruptured his left eardrum, has a small brain bleed, and was leaking spinal fluid that was causing air to form around his brain (thankfully the tear causing that sealed and the fluid quit leaking). The guy we were working for paid cash and carries no insurance or workmans comp. I've spoke to a lawyer and with him paying cash and not having a bank account, he's skirting the system so that he doesn't have to pay for anything. My question is, does anyone know if there's a way around this to where he HAS to pay for my boyfriend's medical bills?
 


quincy

Senior Member
I am sorry to hear about your boyfriend’s injuries. Is your boyfriend insured?

Your boyfriend should speak again to a personal injury lawyer (initial consultations are generally free) to discuss options.

What caused the fall off the ladder?
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
Illegally paying employees "under the table" does not relieve the employer of the responsibilities of an employer.

As mentioned your boyfriend needs to see a personal injury lawyer that has at least some experience (the more the better) in work comp law. In fact, a work comp lawyer may actually be the best choice. What he doesn't need is one of the PI lawyers that advertise for car wrecks and such.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Not being required to have work comp does not relieve a small employer of liability for injured employees. Not having work comp insurance if not required does remove the employer protections of the work comp laws.
Right. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
Illegally paying employees "under the table" does not relieve the employer of the responsibilities of an employer.

As mentioned your boyfriend needs to see a personal injury lawyer that has at least some experience (the more the better) in work comp law. In fact, a work comp lawyer may actually be the best choice. What he doesn't need is one of the PI lawyers that advertise for car wrecks and such.
Unless there is recourse under worker's comp, any personal injury lawyer could handle the lawsuit. The problem is that if worker's comp does not apply then the employer is only liable if the employer was negligent. And we have no idea why the OP's boyfriend fell and if there was any negligence by the employer that caused it. Certainly the boyfriend ought to start by consulting a worker's comp lawyer to see if there is any remedy there. But if not, the boyfriend should look for an experienced personal injury lawyer to see if there is a good negligence case to be brought. But if the boyfriend fell to his own inattention or whatever, there won't be recovery against the employer for this if worker's comp isn't available. I'm having trouble seeing the negligence of the employer unless the ladder was provided by the employer and the ladder itself was bad and that caused the fall, or the employer was somehow involved in securing the ladder and that was the cause of the fall.

Lawyers that advertise are not necessarily bad lawyers to retain. I've seen both good and bad PI lawyers that advertise extensively in my area. Just don't get suckered into believing the ads you see.
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
I'm having trouble seeing the negligence of the employer unless the ladder was provided by the employer and the ladder itself was bad and that caused the fall, or the employer was somehow involved in securing the ladder and that was the cause of the fall.
An employee not trained in the proper use of the latter and is later injured would create liability for the employer in the eyes of OSHA and likely a jury. Especially in a case where the employer is skirting the law.

Lawyers that advertise are not necessarily bad lawyers to retain. I've seen both good and bad PI lawyers that advertise extensively in my area. Just don't get suckered into believing the ads you see.
Please note that I said car wreck lawyers but I've generally found that PI lawyers that advertise will seldom take a case to court and will generally settle even when it is not in the best interest of the client.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Knowing what exactly led to the fall is important.

Around here, several of the best personal injury firms advertise their services on TV.

Getting a referral from family, friends or coworkers is a good way to start a search, though.
 

quincy

Senior Member
That's not the case around here. Maybe it is a Southern thing.
Maybe the competition between firms is greater around here, hence the perceived need by firms for all of the ads.

Settlements are more common than trials, not only in personal injury cases.
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
Maybe the competition between firms is greater around here, hence the perceived need by firms for all of the ads.

Settlements are more common than trials, not only in personal injury cases.
I think it is more likely a "Souther Gentleman" thing. We were late with any lawyer advertising and as recently as 10 -15 years ago advertising lawyers were actively shunned by those that don't around here.

Of course, settlements are more common. But, I can think of a two-man firm in the area that advertises more than the car dealers do and nobody can ever remember seeing them inside a courthouse.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
An employee not trained in the proper use of the [ladder] and is later injured would create liability for the employer in the eyes of OSHA and likely a jury.
And where are you getting the idea that the employer has a duty to train the employee on the use of the ladder? The plaintiff must prove there was a duty on the part of the defendant in order to make the case for negligence. OSHA has extensive requirements for ladders, but you will note that none of them mention any requirement for the employer to train the employee on the use of the ladder. They primarily focus on the condition of the ladder and how the ladder is set, the two things that I mentioned in my post. Nor does Alabama case law indicate any duty by an employer to train an employee on the use of the ladder either, so far as I can tell. And, of course, we don't even know that the boyfriend didn't know how to use the ladder in the first place. (And if he didn't know, he should have asked.)

Especially in a case where the employer is skirting the law.
The jury is unlikely to hear about that since the employer not paying worker's comp is not at all relevant to the issue of negligence.

Please note that I said car wreck lawyers but I've generally found that PI lawyers that advertise will seldom take a case to court and will generally settle even when it is not in the best interest of the client.
How much direct experience do you have with PI lawyers who advertise? Have you been the client of many of those lawyers? Know a lot of people who have been clients of such lawyers? I've been in practice two decades and am familiar a lot of PI firms, some of which advertise, and some of those lawyers are excellent and have no problem taking a case to trial. Others are more of the lot that you describe. And lawyers who don't advertise can be either good or bad, too. It isn't the advertising that signals whether the lawyer is good or not. Perhaps in your area the lawyers who advertise are all bad, though that would be unusual and certainly not indicative of what it's like in other parts of the country.
 

TheGeekess

Keeper of the Kraken
Oh, trust me, there's plenty of PI attorneys looking for work in Bama. Billboards and advertisements everywhere.
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
And where are you getting the idea that the employer has a duty to train the employee on the use of the ladder?
Well, it seems they have removed some stuff from the training requirements that were there at one time over the last 20 years. They didn't even change the header in the manual.

Subpart E – Scaffolds, Ladders and Other Working Surfaces
1915.71
Scaffolds or staging
(b) General requirements
(7) No scaffold shall be erected, moved, dismantled or altered except under the supervision of competent persons.

The jury is unlikely to hear about that since the employer not paying worker's comp is not at all relevant to the issue of negligence.
The jury would be likely to hear about the employer's scoffing of employment law. It goes to character and the workplace environment.


How much direct experience do you have with PI lawyers who advertise?
I hang around a lot of lawyers. Most of them since college. My thoughts on advertising lawyers may well be dated but not as dated as it might be in your area.
 

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