Accidents in
the workplace give rise to a wide spectrum
of injuries-from conditions as apparently
minor as aching backs to traumatic brain and
spinal cord injuries. The principal causes
of work related injuries include fires and
explosions; exposures to toxic chemicals and
other environmental hazards; work-related
transportation accidents; slips and falls;
electrocutions; machinery-related accidents;
traumas from contact with heavy objects; and
even on-the-job assaults by co-workers and
third parties.
Workplace
injuries are not limited to factories and
construction sites. Even office employees
are subject to a wide variety of serious
work-related injuries, such as carpal tunnel
syndrome and other repetitive stress
injuries, sick building syndrome,
asbestosis, mold and lead poisoning, slips
and falls, and even occupational stress.
If you suffer
a work related injury or illness, you may be
entitled to substantial money damages, even
in cases involving what may appear to
involve only minor injuries. You can recover
any medical expenses you have had to cover
as a result of the injury, such as doctor
and hospital bills, medications, therapy,
home health care and all other related
medical expenses, as well as any future
medical expenses you reasonably expect to
incur. You can also recover for the physical
pain and suffering you have sustained, your
out of pocket expenses, your mental and
emotional anguish, your lost wages, benefits
and other compensation, any loss of your
future earning capacity, and the future
diminishment of your enjoyment of life.
Additionally,
in some cases, if your spouse has been
injured as a result of a workplace injury or
illness, you may be entitled to collect
damages for the loss of pleasure or
companionship you have experienced as a
result of his or her injuries. And in
certain extreme cases, where the wrongdoer's
conduct is extreme and outrageous, you may
be entitled to collect punitive damages to
punish the wrongdoer and to prevent the
misconduct from being repeated in the
future.
Workplace
injury cases are incredibly complex, and
provide many traps for the unwary. The
principal problem in most workplace injury
cases is that if an employee is injured
while in the course of his or her
employment, the employee generally may not
sue the employer in court, and is limited to
his or her state's workers' compensation
remedies. As these remedies are typically
much less favorable than those available to
an injured employee in a personal injury
lawsuit, employers fight hard to keep their
injured employees in the workers'
compensation system and out of court.
There are,
however, ways to avoid the workers'
compensation trap. In cases where the
employer knew or should have known that the
workplace was unsafe and likely to cause
injury, an injured employee may be able to
sue the employer directly for allowing such
unsafe conditions to occur in the workplace.
Additionally, if an employee is injured by a
piece of defective machinery or equipment in
the workplace, he or she may be able to sue
all of the parties involved in the design,
engineering, manufacture, distribution,
sale, and installation of the defective
machinery.
Because
workplace injury cases are so complex, you
need an experienced and aggressive
litigation team if you have been injured as
a result of workplace injury or illness.
We know which medical experts and
occupational experts you'll need to make
your case, we know how to avoid the workers'
compensation trap, and we'll stand by your
side no matter how long it takes to get your
case to a negotiated settlement or a trial.
