I suffered a spinal cord injury at work. What are my options?

One of the most devastating injuries that occurs in the workplace is a spinal cord injury resulting in paralysis. Your employers’ workers compensation insurer will likely cover the necessary medical care and expenses. When an employee suffers from a work-related injury, workers’ compensation benefits are usually the employee’s only remedy against the employer. However, if you were injured in the course and scope of employment as the result of a negligent third party, you have the right to pursue a “third party case” claim against the negligent party in addition to pursuing a workers’ compensation claim.

A third party case is a case against any company other than your employer. Most commonly, it is against the general contractor, the manufacturer of a product or another contractor that contributed to the injury. For example, another contractor may have built a defective scaffold, or a piece of heavy machinery might break on the job, resulting in a possible product liability claims for the spinal injury. An experienced attorney can tell you what parties may be held liable for your injuries, and your likelihood of success. FreeAdvice provides a case evaluation form for you to receive a free, no obligation case evaluation by an experienced injury attorney.