Articles Tagged with Compensation Claim

pexels-elevate-1267324-scaledInjuries that occur while an individual is working can devastate the injured party’s life in several ways. Not only does the injured party likely earn less money due to the injury, but other damages, such as medical expenses and loss of enjoyment of life, may also result.

James Thomas was a forklift operator for Marsala Beverage Company (“Marsala”) in Monroe, Louisiana. In addition to operating forklifts, Thomas routinely moved cases of drinks by hand and performed janitorial duties around the facility. On one occasion, when Thomas was operating a forklift to unload pallets of drinks, the forklift fell out of the back of a delivery truck, landing several feet below onto concrete.

After the fall, Thomas visited Marsala’s company doctor, Dr. George Woods, complaining of pain in his back. Dr. Woods examined Thomas and ordered x-rays, which showed no evidence of fractures in Thomas’s spine. During the visit, Thomas explained to Dr. Woods that he wanted to return to work as soon as possible to receive bonus compensation based on the number of hours he worked that week. Dr. Woods cleared Thomas to return to work, which he did even though he continued to experience back pain.

pexels-frans-van-heerden-201846-635096-scaledDavid Cox delivered four pallets of shirk-wrapped material for his employer, Southwestern Motor Transport, in June 2012. The delivery location was the Baker Distributing Company warehouse in Shreveport, Louisiana. Baker’s delivery dock did not have a dock plate. A dock plate is a metal bridge connecting a truck’s back to the loading dock. There is an empty space between the back of the truck and the loading dock without a dock plate. In addition, Cox found that the loading dock was cluttered with several objects. Due to this clutter, Cox could not use a forklift to unload the truck.

Working alone, Cox managed to get two pallets off the truck with a pallet jack but then used a dolly for the last two pallets. While attempting to get the previous pallet off the truck, Cox’s foot became wedged between the dock and the truck, causing him to fall on his back. Cox filed a lawsuit as a result of being injured.

In the lawsuit Cox alleged that this fall caused him to have permanent injuries that made him disabled. The injury resulted in Cox receiving worker’s compensation benefits. Cox filed a lawsuit against Baker, arguing that the lack of a working dock plate made the dock unreasonably dangerous, that the lack of a dock plate was not easily visible to parties making deliveries to the warehouse, and that Baker had a duty to provide a safe entrance for parties unloading at the dock.

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