Injured
On The Job? You May Be Entitled To More Than Workers' Compensation
Benefits
Third
Party Claims
Workers who have been injured on the job may be entitled to receive
more than workers' compensation benefits. The law is designed to
protect you and your family and allows injured workers to pursue
monetary claims against parties, other than their employer, who
contributed to the accident causing the injury. These cases are
called third party claims or third party law suits. Consider the
Following Examples:
Defective
Product Injury
A worker who is injured while using a piece of machinery may be
entitled to collect money damages from the manufacturer or distributor
of the machinery, if the machinery was defective and that defect
contributed to the worker's injury.
For
Example:
A fifteen year old boy was working at a fast food restaurant. He
was scalded by boiling water while operating a hot water machine.
We filed a third party law suit against the manufacturer of the
machine and the contractor who had installed the machine, alleging
that the machine was defectively designed, lacked adequate safety
warnings and was improperly installed. We eventually settled the
law suit for $900,000.00.
Construction
Site Injury
An employee of a subcontractor injured on a construction site may
be entitled to compensation from the general contractor or some
other third party who contributed to his or her injuries by causing
or allowing unsafe work conditions to exist.
For
Example:
A laborer was working for a demolition company that was a sub contractor
on a construction site. He fell more than thirty feet and sustained
a serious back injury. We filed a third party lawsuit against the
general contractor alleging the contractor had not provided proper
safety lines and tie off locations, in violation of federal and
state safety regulations. We settled the lawsuit for $850,000.00.
What
You May Be Entitled to Receive
As you may know, workers' compensation benefits are generally limited
to payment of medical expenses and a percentage of lost wages. Often,
workers' compensation benefits are not sufficient to compensate
you for the full extent of your injuries. However, claims against
third parties allow for full recovery of all injuries suffered.
An
injured worker may be entitled to compensation for a permanent or
partial disability, future loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering,
emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life and more. Click
here to see what else you may be entitled to recover.
Your
Right To Bring Suit
In Massachusetts, the injured worker has the exclusive right to
bring a law suit against the so-called third party for the first
seven months after the injury. After seven months, either the insurer
that has paid the compensation benefits or the injured worker may
bring a law suit, but not both. This is an important distinction
because if the insurer brings suit before the injured worker, the
insurer (not the injured worker), controls the law suit.
Let
us Know if we can help.
If you or a loved one has been injured and you would like more detailed
information about your legal rights, please call Charles Campo toll
free at 1-866-529-5300 or 617-423-4949, or e-mail Charles Campo
about your case at cmc@campolawfirm.com
for a confidential evaluation.
|
