Nashville Personal Injury Lawyer - Workplace Injuries

Forklift Safety Is Serious Business

George Fusner — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:31:12 GMT

Last week I wrote about Brandon Walker from Chapmansboro who was killed while operating a fork lift in Nashville. Did you know that every three days someone is killed in a forklift related accident? Each year over 95,000 injuries related to forklift accidents are reported. According to the United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) violations of the OSHA forklift standard resulted in over $1 Million in fines in 2008 alone.

OSHA has standards for the operation of forklifts around electrical lines since the early 1990's. Training is mandatory for operators of forklifts. In Brandon's case did he receive the proper training required by OSHA? Was he trained specifically to work around overhead wires? Many unanswered questions. Perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by George Fusner

Catastrophic Workplace Injuries-The Role of the Plaintiff Personal Injury Attorney

George Fusner — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:30:51 GMT

I was doing some research today after posting on the death of a worker by electrocution. I ran across an interesting article written for industry on what to do and what not to do. What struck me as great advice that also would apply to the injuried workers and their families is the early role of attorneys in the process. A few choice quotes:

After the appropriate emergency or medical personnel have been contacted, the next step is to notify the appropriate corporate officers regarding the emergency. It is important to notify the appropriate corporate legal department, which is responsible for managing the risk and avoiding potential legal liability. (A determination will have to be made if outside legal counsel is needed based on the scope of the workplace emergency.)

As in any accident investigation, the employer should anticipate an attempt to discover or obtain the documents generated by the accident investigation team by outside governmental agencies or plaintiff’s attorneys. Such documents should be appropriately marked as being a “draft” prepared at the direction of an attorney. The document should be marked “confidential and privileged, attorney-client communications.” All “draft” accident investigation documents should be reviewed by an attorney before they are completely in final form.

In dealing with incidents involving fatality and catastrophic accidents, it is likely that the employer will also have to handle requests from other third parties. These third parties include equipment manufacturers, contractors, property owners, vendors, and attorneys representing the injured or deceased employees. It will be critical to effectively deal with these third parties, because they represent potential financial and legal liability to the company.

Good advice. As you can see the company is already getting its attorneys involved. Thus anything that is said may be priviledged. Any statements that ultimately are given have been "approved" by the company attorney. Is that really a true statment of the facts?

This is why it is so critical to get an experienced attorney working for YOU, not the company, not the insurance company, not the trucking company. So he can gather the facts for you in unfiltered form.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by George Fusner

Farm and Tree Nursery Workers Exempt From Workers Compensation

Rob McKinney — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:02:10 GMT

Today, I went to McMinnville ,Tn for a deposition in a case . The tree and shrub nursery industry is big business in Warren County ,Tennessee. The point is that farm workers which includes tree nursery workers are not covered under workers compensation laws. It is optional with the employer. It is yet another example of the failure of the workers compensation laws to protect the the working man or woman. If there is no workers compensation insurance , a farm worker has to prove negligence on the employer in order to get his medical bills and lost wages paid. Farming is a dangerous job.Tractors , machinery , and trucks are all used in farming, but there is no laws to protect our farm workers. Shame on our lawmakers for failing to protect everyone. I guess it is more important to protect Farm Bureau Insurance Company.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rob McKinney

Metro Nashville Employees Not Covered by Workers Compensation

Rob McKinney — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:49:15 GMT

Before , I went to law school . I worked in Dickson,Tennessee, My boss had a saying "if your green your growing when your ripe your done". The moral is always keep learning.I discovered a twist in the law that I thought I would share. The Metropolitan Government of Nashville is exempted from the workers compensation law. Metro provides benefits if your are injured in the line of duty, but you are free to pursue other remedies. First , you can sue a third party if they caused the accident. Such as , you are driving a Metro car and another driver runs the stop light and is at fault in the accident. The new thing I learned is that you can also sue Metro Nashville. If Metro Government of Nashville is negligent ,you can sue the city for damages . However, Metro Nashville will be entitled to a set-off for any medical bills or lost wages they paid. So,Metro Nashville Employees are not covered by workers compensation, but they do have other rights.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rob McKinney

Workers Compensation Tip

Rob McKinney — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:55:21 GMT

As any worker in Tennessee knows, Governor Bredesen and the Tennessee Legislature gutted workers compensation . They changed the laws for big business. Caps are in place on most injuries that happen in the work place. The exception is when the worker cannot return to the job. The tip today is when the employer tries to find you a job. Some employers will try to accommodate injured workers and find them a job within their work restrictions. If they do , I would suggest trying the job rather than just deciding you cannot do it. Refusal to return to work kills your workers compensation case. The lesson here is to try. If you can't , it only makes your case stronger.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rob McKinney

Crane Safety Issues In Construction Site Accident Cases

Rob McKinney — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:07:09 GMT

Recently, crane safety has been in the news after several deaths . Crane inspections are controlled by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration. Funny , but they do not ever inspect the cranes only the paperwork according to a report in the Tennessean newspaper. TOSHA relies on the inspections performed by the company. I am sure those inspections are complete . In Tennessee ,there have been 49 violations of safety practices. The last update on crane safety regulations happened in 1971. The main question is do the operators have a license to run these machines? Construction site safety and accidents are one of the main areas of my practice. As the cranes dot the Nashville skyline with the boom in downtown building , I might be driving with my eye on the cranes and hope it does not fall on me or hurt the workers below.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rob McKinney

Injured Railroad Worker Wins on Appeal

Rob McKinney — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:52:31 GMT

Andrew Blackburn was thrown from a rail carand was seriously injured.He sued his employer , CSX Transportation Inc., under the Federal Employee Liability Act that protects the railroad workers. A Nashville, Davidson County Jury awarded a $2.9 million dollar judgement for his injuries. The Trial court threw out the jury verdict and ordered a new trial because she thought the evidence did not support the juries verdict. However, the Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed the trial court and ordered it to rule on the motion by different standards. This case just shows the civil justice system is not over run with high jury awards . First, the court system is a check and balance system on personal injury cases. The judge's can act as "13 th" jurors to insure the system works. Secondly , the Court of Appeals can review a judges ruling. The bottom line is that the system worked for Mr. Blackburn.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rob McKinney

Construction Explosion Accident Hurts Fourteen

Rob McKinney — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:16:22 GMT

A explosion rocked a hotel under construction in San Diego. Fourteen workers were injured with five critically injured. Most of the workers were treated for burn injuries. Construction accidents are becoming all too common. No information is given as to the cause of the explosion. Workers Compensation is not the only solution for construction accident cases . In Tennessee, you are limited in your recovery of damages in a workers compensation case. It is important to investigate who caused the accident.If, you can prove a third party caused or created the harm , you can bring a lawsuit or cause of action against the negligent party to recover pain and suffering and other damages.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rob McKinney