I work in a warehouse and I was injured on the job. My foot was run over by a forklift. The driver of the forklift has been warned by supervisors and co workers numerous times for "careless and erratic" driving. The warehouse preaches SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY but strangely enough they do not conduct any type of training or re-certification for forklift drivers after they qualify for a driver position (semi-annual, annual, etc).As a result, there are injuries weekly maybe even daily and the receptionist at the hospital said that this company is their biggest client. New drivers are trained by senior drivers but the senior drivers are not certified as trainers. I’m sure this is some type of OSHA violation in itself.
Well after leaving the ER, I was given a list of Work Restrictions. This company had to accommodate the work restrictions or I would not be allowed to continue working. One of the restrictions was the I was to continue taking my medication for pain, which makes me very drowsy. I was also told by the Return To Work Coordinator that I must take my medication AFTER work and that I must return to work or I won’t get paid. Well I went to work (on crutches) for several days. I had my follow up and my doctor was extremely upset with the decision of the company to have me return to work on crutches without pain medication, which is strictly against the work restrictions set forth by my doctor and complete disregard for my health and safety. Do I have a case here? Reckless driver, numerous company injuries, numerous OSHA violations and company disregarding doctors orders?? If something is not done about the amount of injuries within this company, there will eventually be a fatality. Please help!
Who are you talking about suing, the employer, or the guy who ran over your foot?
Assuming you’re talking about the employer here, it’s going to matter which state this happened in. Some states, you flat out can’t sue the employer, IF they carry workers comp insurance. Other states, you CAN sue the employer IF you don’t file a workers comp claim. ALL states, IF you file a workers comp claim, the employer is THEN "immune" from a lawsuit. The workers comp is a "no fault" benefit that you get, and in exchange, the employers receive immunity from being sued by their employees for work related injuries.
You could still sue the guy who ran over your foot, though, but even if you win, you’re not likely to get money from him – the FIRST part of whatever he was able to pay, would go to reimburse workers comp insurance for your medical bills and lost wages.
Something IS being done about the injuries – the workers comp premiums are jumping through the roof. Workers comp already has controls in place, to automatically ‘punish’ employers who have more claims than average.
Posted on January 7th, 2010 by roy
Filed under: forklift certification
Workers comp leave of absence payment is based on state law. Depending on the state, you must be off work for 3-10 days before you can receive payment which is typically 66% of your salary.
Your work told you that they were able to accomodate your work restriction IF you were willing to take your medication after working hours. If you didn’t do this, you would have been placed on WC leave and not paid, per the state requirements. You CHOSE to return to work with the requirements the company made. If this didn’t help your condition, you shouldn’t have done it.
Have you completed the workers compensation injury report/claim? If not, you should.
Each year, the company is required to notify OSHA of their injuries. If they aren’t doing this, they are in violation and eventually get caught.
You can contact a workers compensation attorney. Typically these lawyers only deal with WC settlements which you most likely would not be eligible for because it does not sound like you have any permanent disability. However, you could discuss with them the different issues you address and see if there is any action you can take.
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HR Consultant
Who are you talking about suing, the employer, or the guy who ran over your foot?
Assuming you’re talking about the employer here, it’s going to matter which state this happened in. Some states, you flat out can’t sue the employer, IF they carry workers comp insurance. Other states, you CAN sue the employer IF you don’t file a workers comp claim. ALL states, IF you file a workers comp claim, the employer is THEN "immune" from a lawsuit. The workers comp is a "no fault" benefit that you get, and in exchange, the employers receive immunity from being sued by their employees for work related injuries.
You could still sue the guy who ran over your foot, though, but even if you win, you’re not likely to get money from him – the FIRST part of whatever he was able to pay, would go to reimburse workers comp insurance for your medical bills and lost wages.
Something IS being done about the injuries – the workers comp premiums are jumping through the roof. Workers comp already has controls in place, to automatically ‘punish’ employers who have more claims than average.
References :
State laws prevent you sueing in almost all cases. You file a Workers Compensation claim that pays medical costs, lost work time, retraining if needed, and loss of skill due to accident if applicable.
Workers Comp laws established to keep the employee from having to sue.
References :
I dissagree with the statement that WC is sufficient. If a company is negligent they should be liable for such negligence. An “accident” is one thing but if employees do not receive ANY training in violation of OSHA regs, they should pay punitive damages.