Sumter Forklift Lawyer
Every year, bigger and faster forklifts cause more and more injuries. Every year, the Sumter forklift lawyers at the Stanley Law Group are there to help.
Rollovers, falling loads, and pedestrian collisions are the most common forklift accidents. Forklifts are designed to move in straight lines. They are not designed to turn sharply, especially while hauling heavy loads. These loads often exceed specifications. Many workers, often under pressure from their employers to increase productivity, always add an extra box to the pile. Large loads also mean limited sight lines, especially if the operator is inexperienced.
As outlined below, these victims often have multiple legal options. All these pathways lead to the same destination, which is maximum compensation for your serious injuries.
Sumter Forklifts Lawyers and Possible Injuries
These incidents usually cause head injuries, which come in many forms. All these injuries are permanent, at least to an extent.
Toppling boxes and other items often cause concussions (mTBIs, or moderate traumatic brain injuries). If the victim had a pre-existing condition namely prior concussions, a single mTBI could cause CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a permanent and degenerative condition that’s usually fatal.
If a prior concussion, or any other prior injury, contributed to an accident-related injury, maximum compensation is still available. Insurance companies cannot use victim vulnerabilities to their own financial advantage.
Other forklift accident-related head injuries include sTBIs (severe traumatic brain injuries) and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). WHen accident victims fall, their brains slam against their skulls, causing severe brain swelling and bleeding. Furthermore, the extreme stress of such injuries alters brain chemistry, causing PTSD symptoms like flashbacks and depression.
Other possible injuries include spine injuries, broken bones, and internal injuries. All these wounds are difficult to diagnose and expensive to treat. A Sumter forklift lawyer helps ensure that these victims get the medical treatment they need, when they need it.
Your Legal Options
Mostly depending on the facts of the case and an attorney’s recommendation, most forklift accident victims may pursue workers’ compensation claims or civil claims.
In most cases, workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy for work-related trauma injuries, like falls, and occupational diseases, like hearing loss.
Most victims must only prove that their illness or injury was work-related to receive life-changing financial benefits like:
- Medical Bill Payment: The average injury-related hospital bill is more than $40,000. Workers’ compensation pays all these bills, as well as physical therapy and other related costs, as long as the expense was reasonably necessary.
- Lost Wage Replacement: Most victims receive two-thirds of their average weekly wage (AWW) for the duration of their permanent or temporary disabilities. The AWW calculation includes not only prior lost income, but also future lost income, such as missed performance bonus milestones.
Limited workers’ compensation defenses, such as worker substance abuse, are available, Much more commonly, and in fact in almost every case, the insurance company disputes the amount of damages.
Sadly, these arguments often convince victims without lawyers to settle their cases for pennies on the dollar. That’s one reason the average attorney-negotiated settlement is more than three times higher than the average non-attorney-negotiated settlement.
Some victims can bypass the workers’ compensation system and file civil claims. Usually, these victims must prove the employer intentionally or recklessly caused injury.
A defective product claim might be an option as well. Companies who make and sell dangerous or defective products cannot hide behind workers’ compensation laws.
Reach Out to a Fearless Sumter County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced forklift lawyer in Sumter, contact the Stanley Law Group. Virtual, home, and hospital visits are available.
