After a forklift accident, you should get immediate medical attention. Especially if you were thrown from the driver’s seat or bailed during the crash, you could have extensive injuries you need covered.
Workers’ Compensation, paid by your employer, should cover your medical treatment in full. However, there are also wage-loss benefits you could be entitled to that may be supplemented in a lawsuit. While you cannot usually sue your employer, you may be able to sue third parties for full compensation.
Reach out to the Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists at Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945.
How to File a Forklift Injury Case in Upper Darby
You must follow these steps with the help of your forklift lawyers to file your Workers’ Comp claim:
Reporting Injury
You must report injuries to your employer within 21 days. Do not assume that your supervisor made a report for you; do this yourself.
If you do not report within 120 days, you lose your case.
Initial Workers’ Comp Claim
After that report, your employer will file your claim with their insurance carrier. They must give you an answer within 21 days.
Decision
The employer/insurance carrier can deny this claim only if they have a reasonable basis to do so. Otherwise, we can potentially claim attorneys’ fees from them.
If they do not give a response within 21 days of your report, we can seek penalties, too.
At this stage, there are 4 possible decisions:
- They can accept the claim and start paying ongoing benefits.
- They can accept the claim and offer a settlement.
- They can accept the claim temporarily and pay benefits for up to 90 days while they continue to investigate before denying or accepting later.
- They can deny the claim.
Claim Petition
If they deny your claim, we can file a formal petition with the state within 3 years of your initial injury. This puts the decision before a Workers’ Comp Judge (WCJ) through a Claim Petition.
Evidence Collection
Both sides get up to 120 days to take depositions, send you to medical exams, and otherwise collect evidence. They then submit their evidence to the WCJ.
Hearings
The WCJ holds hearings to get status updates, deal with any petitions or issues, and to accept the evidence. A final formal hearing is used instead of a “trial” in Workers’ Comp cases, and the judge takes all final evidence and testimony at that hearing.
Hearings are also used to approve settlements.
Decision
The judge makes the decision and orders benefits granted or denied. If you disagree with the ruling, we can appeal it to the Workers’ Comp Appeal Board, then the Commonwealth Court, then the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (if they accept the appeal).
Can You Sue for a Forklift Accident?
Lawsuits are limited for work-related injuries, but they are possible in many cases.
Third-Party Defendant Required
You cannot sue your employer for a work-related injury. This means you have to file against a third party, such as an outside contractor or a delivery driver who operated the forklift.
You can also sue forklift manufacturers for defects.
Deadline to File
Lawsuit must typically be filed within 2 years of the accident.
Elements of Fault
You have to prove that the defendant violated a legal duty that they owed you, and that that violation caused your injuries.
Workers’ Comp is a no-fault system, so if you cannot prove this (or if you or an employer were the only responsible party), you can still get paid through Workers’ Comp.
Damages from Workers’ Comp for a Forklift Injury
Workers’ Compensation pays these benefits listed below, but a lawsuit can pay more.
Medical Benefits
Workers’ Comp pays for all medical care, provided you use an approved provider for the first 90 days.
Wage-Loss Benefits
Wage-loss benefits are paid for as long as you are unable to work at your full capacity. When you cannot work at all, benefits are 2/3 of your pre-injury wage. While you can work for a reduced wage, benefits are 2/3 of the difference in pre- and post-injury wages.
All of these amounts are subject to caps and potential floors.
Specific Loss Benefits
You can get an additional 2/3 of pre-injury wages for a set number of weeks (subject to caps and floors) for any of these permanent injuries:
- Amputation or total lost function
- Lost hearing or vision
- Serious facial scars.
Additional Damages from Lawsuits
A lawsuit can recover some of the same damages – which get paid back to the insurance carrier. It can also cover additional damages, such as
- Pain and suffering
- The rest of your lost wages
- Property damage
- Other economic damages you suffered (e.g., lost household services).
FAQs for Forklift Injuries in Upper Darby
Is There Insurance for Forklift Accident Cases?
If you were injured in the performance of your work duties, then Workers’ Compensation should cover your forklift accident. This is typically available to all “employees” in Pennsylvania.
There is not usually outside “forklift insurance” like there is with car insurance.
What if You Were Hit by Another Forklift Driver?
If you were the driver in a forklift accident, you should be covered under Workers’ Comp. You should similarly be covered if someone hit you with a forklift.
As long as you were working within the scope of your job duties when you got hit by a forklift, it should be covered. This means that you can file a claim whether your coworker or an outside worker hit you. However, you may also be able to sue if the person who hit you worked for an outside company (e.g., a delivery driver).
Can You Sue for a Forklift Accident Outside of Work?
If you were not working when you got hit by a forklift, you can typically sue the at-fault operator. If they were working, then you can sue their employer if the accident was within the scope of their job.
This can cover something like being hit by a forklift while shopping at a big box store.
Do You Have to Be Forklift Certified for Workers’ Comp Coverage?
Employers are usually responsible for making sure their workers follow the rules, but they cannot deny Workers’ Comp coverage to employees who break rules. Workers’ Comp should cover all work-related accidents, even if they were caused by minor infractions or rule violations.
Workers’ Compensation can only be denied if a worker injured themselves intentionally, through drug/alcohol use, or through illegal activity (i.e., misdemeanors or felonies). Operating a forklift without proper certifications does not usually rise to that level of illegal activity nor intentional acts.
Call Our Forklift Accident and Injury Lawyers in Upper Darby
Call (267) 651-7945 for a free case evaluation with Cardamone Law’s forklift accident lawyers.
