If you work with or around forklifts, you understand how useful they can be for moving heavy loads. But with this power comes danger, and sadly, many workers find themselves injured due to misused and malfunctioning forklifts.
Getting hurt by a forklift can mean serious injuries and missing significant time at work. If you’ve recently suffered a forklift injury in Clovis, the workers’ compensation attorneys from Maison Law are here for you. Ideally, you can obtain the compensation you’re entitled to from workers’ compensation benefits without our help. However, this claims process doesn’t always work as it should, and that’s where we can come in. For a no-obligation, no-cost consultation with a Clovis workers’ compensation lawyer, contact Maison Law today.
Common Causes of Forklift Injuries in Clovis
Some forklift injuries are due to mechanical failure, human error, or a combination of the two. But human error is usually the biggest factor in causing the accident, which ends up being a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, it usually means the accident could have been avoided. But on the other hand, it means there are steps workers and their employers can take to prevent these accidents from occurring in the future. Below is a list of some of the most common causes of forklift injuries:
- Driving too fast: It doesn’t seem like it, but many forklifts are able to move quickly, easily topping 10 miles per hour. In a crowded work area, these speeds can result in forklifts running into other workers. Even without a risk of hitting others, these high speeds dramatically increase the risk of rollover crashes.
- Inadequate maintenance: Forklifts are safe when used properly, which requires regular maintenance. This is especially true for parts of the machine relating to safety, such as brake and control systems, as well as hydraulic fluid levels.
- Insufficient training: Employers are responsible for ensuring their forklift operators know how to effectively and safely operate these machines. But this doesn’t always happen, and some workers are left to figure things out on their own.
- Suddenly shifting into reverse: Quickly moving into reverse can injure workers located behind the forklift who don’t have time to get out of the way. Before going into reverse, operators should stop and scan their surroundings first, but that doesn’t always happen.
- Miscommunication: Poor communication is a common cause of workplace injuries. Conveying to other workers the forklift operational areas and routes, as well as rules regarding right-of-way, can go a long way to preventing accidents.
- Bailing from forklifts: If a forklift is about to roll over, operators have a tendency to jump from the forklift. However, this increases the risk of injury because the forklift driver cage is designed to protect operators when this happens. By jumping off, the operator risks injury from hitting the ground or even worse, having the forklift roll over on top of them.
- Improper forklift use: During downtime, some forklift users will engage in horseplay with forklifts, which dramatically increases the risk of accidents. Even without horseplay, forklifts can be misused when they’re used for other tasks other than heavy lifting and transport, such as makeshift ladders and cherry pickers.
Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim
Getting hurt by a forklift while on duty usually means any compensation you can get for your injuries will come from California’s workers’ compensation claim system. To receive these benefits, you’ll need to take the following steps after your injury.
Step 1: Treat Your Injuries
For serious injuries, dial 9-1-1 for immediate medical attention. For something less severe, going to see your primary care doctor or urgent care clinic may be sufficient. Either way, it’s important to treat your injuries promptly.
Step 2: Give Notice of the Injury to Your Employer
To claim workers’ compensation benefits, you need to first inform your employer of the accident and your injuries. California law requires you to provide this notice within 30 days of the date you were injured. If you fail to do this, you may not be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
After you tell your employer of the accident, they should give you a copy of the Workers’ Compensation Form (DWC 1) to fill out and return to them.
Step 3: Complete and Return DWC 1
There are two main sections of DWC 1, and you only need to complete the “Employee” section. After doing this, return the form to your employer, who then completes the “Employee” section. Once completed, your employer will provide you with a copy of the completed form and send a copy to the workers’ compensation claims administrator.
Step 4: Cooperate with the Insurance Investigation
In many cases, the claims administrator will confirm receipt of the DWC 1 within 14 days and then ask you to cooperate with a subsequent claims investigation. One of the key components of this investigation is submitting to a medical exam with a Qualified Medical Examiner (QME).
You’ll also need to produce copies of your medical records and expect the investigation to include interviews with those who witnessed the accident or had involvement in it. If your claim is under further investigation by the claims administrator, consider talking to a workers’ compensation lawyer for additional guidance.
Step 5: Return to Work and Continue Treatment
If possible, return to work. However, don’t push yourself too hard and suffer recuperation setbacks. Depending on the nature of your injuries and how you’re healing, you may be able to return to your same job duties. If not, your employer may provide you with modified job duties or a different position.
Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Forklift Injuries
Once your workers’ compensation claim has been approved, you can expect one or more of the following benefits. Exactly what you receive will depend on the nature of your injuries, but can include:
- Medical care reimbursement
- Temporary disability payments
- Permanent disability payments
- Job displacement supplemental assistance (this is to pay for education costs when training for a new career or skill)
- Death benefits
In many cases, getting these benefits isn’t the struggle. Rather, it’s getting these benefits in the right amount or getting them long enough to fully compensate you for your injuries. In certain situations, you may need to bring a separate legal action.
Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit for Forklift Injuries
Ideally, the workers’ compensation process will provide you with benefits that fully compensate you for your medical costs, as well as lost income due to missed work while you recuperate. Unfortunately, things don’t always work out this way.
Claims can be denied and benefits suddenly cut off or reduced. Yet even if none of this happens, sometimes you’ll want to seek legal relief by suing a third party for your personal injuries.
Potential Defendants in a Personal Injury Forklift Lawsuit
The facts of your unique case will decide who you can sue. That said, potential defendants can include entities like a:
- Property owner
- Outside contractor
- Forklift manufacturer, retailer, and/or distributor
- Employer
Note that employers usually can’t be sued for personal injuries you suffer on the job unless a special exception applies. Some of these exceptions include your injury being the result of an intentional act or your employer not carrying workers’ compensation insurance.
Damages You Can Recover in a Personal Injury Case
If you obtain a monetary recovery in a third-party personal injury lawsuit, you can expect one or more of the following:
- Reimbursement for past and future medical expenses.
- Lost wages, both past and future.
- Reimbursement for property damage or repair.
- Extra cost-of-living expenses, such as making your home wheelchair accessible or having to hire a housekeeper to complete chores you used to be able to do.
- Pain and suffering.
- Emotional distress.
- Loss of consortium.
- Permanent scarring, disfigurement, or disability.
- Punitive damages (these are relatively rare, though).
Settling a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Most lawsuits, including those involving work-related personal injuries, settle. This agreement can occur any time during the litigation process, from hours after the plaintiff files a complaint to days after the jury reaches a verdict. That said, the vast majority of lawsuits settle before trial, often after the discovery process.
The amount of the settlement is usually more than what the defendant originally offered before litigation (or what the plaintiff was receiving through workers’ compensation), but less than what the plaintiff asked for in their complaint. The settlement amount can take the form of a lump-sum payment or be structured to make payments to the plaintiff over time.
Maison Law’s Workers’ Compensation Forklift Injury Lawyers Can Help
Forklift injuries are often serious, requiring extensive medical care and rehabilitation. This can lead to a large amount of missed time at work, which means lost or reduced paychecks. If this happens to you, and the workers’ compensation claims process isn’t providing you with ample coverage, you need to get in touch with a Clovis workers’ compensation lawyer.
Our lawyers know how to navigate the complex claims process, as well as escalate the matter to the courtroom should the need arise. Our mission is to help you obtain enough compensation to bring your pre-accident life back to normal as much as possible. Find out what we can do for you by contacting Maison Law for a free consultation. We don’t charge you anything unless we obtain a recovery, so you have nothing to lose.
