Expert: Doctor Settlement - 9/14/2008

Question
My husband fell 12ft from a faulty attic ladder while he was at work. He had installed a hot water heater for the home owner and when he was climbing down the ladder it broke and he fell 12ft resulting in a compound fracture of his arm, a fractured toe, and several cuts and bruises. He then had a closed reduction of the arm followed by an opened reduction with hardware placement. He also had a 2nd surgery to remove some of the hardware.This resulted in being off of work from 11/07 to the present. He has requested treatment for injuries obtained during the accident other than the arm fracture but WC has refused to to evaluate and treat them. He was released from workers comp. in July with a 20lb restriction on his left arm until October. How this was concluded I'm not sure since the impairment doctor didn't complete the evaluation he just assumed the results. Somehow his employer knew of his release and restriction before he did. They called and informed him of this followed by an "Unfortunately we don't have a position available currently to accommodate your restrictions there for you are terminated immediately." This conversation was also recorded. For the 3 months prior to this my husband's supervisor had been inquiring if he could be released to return to work on light duty. The employer took pictures of the faulty ladder and filed suit against the homeowner, since my husband refused to speak to the homeowners adjuster the claim was denied. His supervisor came to the scene of the accident and told the ambulance drivers that he would drive him to the hospital himself. This was after they had already had him on the gernie with an IV in his arm. The EMT's informed the supervisor that no such thing was going to happen. I received no phone call about the accident and no one from his job went to the ER. Within the next two weeks my husband was asked to bring his company phone, truck and uniforms into the shop. This was before he even knew how long he might me off work. From this point he had very limited contact with his employer, he would check in on a monthly basis. His supervisor called a few times over the next few months with comments like yeah I received a letter from WC stating you've been released to come back to work. These were strange since he was still under doctor's care and hadn't began any physical therapy yet. We did not anticipate the loss of his job from all of this.
The behavior of his employer had surprised us both. So I guess the main question now is what if anything can we do about this situation? Can his employer be held responsible for wrongful termination and can the homeowner's be held responsible for their attic ladder. Which the employer did take pictures of but they are not in our possession. And how do we hold WC responsible for the other injuries acquired during the fall. They finally sent a letter stating that the evaluation of the other injuries was denied due to it had been over 30 days since the accident. This however isn't true either, the day after the fall I had to take my husband back to the hospital because of excessive swelling and pain. Two visits to the same ER with the complaints on file both times. I had to also miss extensive amounts of work to drive my husband to and from his appointments and to care for him after surgery. I have contacted several attorneys in the past few weeks but it seems to be very difficult getting someone to hear my story. If we do have a claim should we seek an attorney and which one? Thanks in advance for your time and any advice is greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Misty,

It is surely difficult to see one's spouse injured so severely and then get such shabby treatment in both medical care AND compensation for the injuries.  At www.SettlementCentral.Com bodily injury victims get first rate help to make a maximum insurance settlement.  But this is a Workers' Comp (WC) claim, and we do not deal with that specialty.  I will give you some suggestions herein, but I will also pass along some prayer blessings for healing and some offer of help for financial recovery for your husband.

The reputation of Doctor Settlement fighting for accident victims is solid inasmuch as you will find that Dr. Settlement, J.D. fights for accident victims to get maximum bodily injury insurance settlements.  In this case, however, all I can do is to make you find a local attorney who will fight for your husband's rights.  In fact, I am SO MAD at both the employer and the workers' comp administrator that I am willing to take a personal e-mail from you and to get involved in pursuing a fair insurance settlement that Dr. Settlement KNOWS you deserve!  

I am going to pass along only general information ONLY in this feedback forum.  But if you should have any questions or need for additional information, I am going to pass along to you an invitation to contact me directly at my website.  You can go to www.settlementcentral.com and look for the "contact us" button on the top right of the site page.  When you fill in the form, make sure that you note that your message is for Dr. Settlement, and I will get it.  Also, make sure to sate that you met insurance expert Doctor Settlement at www.allexperts.com.  That will ensure that your message is sent to me for action.

Here is what I believe happened in the case of your husband's claim.  First and foremost, your husband HAS A TORT CLAIM AGAINST THE HOMEOWNER.  That is a paramount issue, and it cannot be dismissed out of hand, as your workers' comp administrator seeks to do.  

By the way, please clarify what state we are dealing with here.  Second, tell me whether or not this is a state institution that is administrating this claim, or whether you have a private contractor who is doing the work.

Although Dr. Settlement, J.D. is an expert personal injury insurance claim attorney, my expertise is lacking in workers' comp claims inasmuch as we always send them out to attorneys who specialize in those kinds of claims.  BUT, as often is the case, this appears to be a claim in which your husband has RIGHTS AGAINST THE THIRD PARTY, TO-WIT: THE HOMEOWNER WITH A DEFECTIVE ATTIC LADDER.

Hence, I want you to present the third party claim to competent attorneys who will take it on.  DO NOT FOCUS upon a WC attorney, inasmuch as they will not see a lot of value in your husband's claim, and hence they will not be eager to handle it.

On the other hand, with the VERY SERIOUS injuries suffered by your husband, I think that a competent personal injury attorney would be willing to take on the claim.

Here is the advantage to BOTH your husband AND you: the third party claim includes GENERAL DAMAGES, which are excluded by the WC claim.  Hence, this includes not only the pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life for your husband, BUT ALSO the loss of relationship with his spouse, AKA loss of consortium.  Thus, the advantage of signing on with a good personal injury attorney now is obvious: she will bring in a lot larger insurance settlement than just a WC attorney.

If you are having trouble finding a good personal injury attorney, then include that as a topic in your e-mail to me and I will give you the names of some attorneys who are members of the American Association for Justice.  We do not gain any referral fee of any kind for this, but it is just my service to injured persons.

I trust that my extra time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.

Best Wishes,

Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com