Notable Workers Compensation Case

I remember a gentleman coming in to our office and he told us that he wasn’t sure if he had a workers’ compensation case because he had slipped and fell and he’d injured his back, cracked a couple of ribs, but he did it at his home.

We investigated and it was a great example of why investigation by a competent attorney is key. Because what we learned was that that particular employee had been called to come into work early to clear snow for the city that he worked for. And because they’d called him in early, it meant that he wasn’t able to live his life. He needed to be ready so that if they called him, he could come into work.

We proved that that was conferring a benefit on that employer that meant that his case came within the Workers’ Compensation Act. By doing so, we were able to get him medical treatment. And that was essential because unbeknown to him, his cracked rib had become infected and he had necrotizing bacteria. Today, he still has a large S-shaped wound going from his shoulder across his back and down to his hip.

We argued that he was permanently and totally disabled and could never work again. And the workers’ compensation carrier fought us all the way. We prevailed and we proved that the workers’ compensation denial was unreasonable. So the workers compensation carrier had to pay our attorney fee and we were able to give that money to our client.