Injured While Working On An Elevator

When you think about installing pipes that carry water or waste, the process seems pretty straightforward. There are no aspects of the job that immediately appear to be dangerous or hazardous to the health and safety of the plumber. However, there is a great deal more to completing a plumbing job than simply installing a few pipes. The plumber must access the area, prepare it for the piping, then install the plumbing lines and restore the space to its original condition, which could include digging, filling trenches, or replacing damaged areas in walls or floors. The wide array of tasks and tools needed to complete a plumbing installation or repair is massive, and these parameters mean there is a vast possibility of suffering an injury due to these issues or mishaps:

• Injury from a malfunctioning tool or piece of equipment, such as a saw, jackhammer, or trencher
• Tripping and falling or slipping and falling on uneven ground, damaged floors, loose dirt, or when walking in an open trench
• Harm from falling objects when working in a confined space or when working outdoors
• Contact burns when using a torch or heat to sweat pipes
• Chemical burns on the skin when using chemicals in a solvent weld piping system
• Chemical vapor damage
• Electrical shocks or electrical burns if wires are near the plumbing lines being repaired

These are just a few of the safety concerns that plumbers must contend with each day as they go about installing new plumbing in a facility or making repairs to existing plumbing systems.

Unlike some jobs that sound very hazardous, such as being a firefighter or working in a factory with massive pieces of equipment, you might assume that plumbing is pretty safe. Still, the reality for these skilled workers is that they handle countless hazardous situations each day that could result in them suffering one or more of these injuries:

• Crushing or compression injures
• Partial or complete amputations
• Fractures, broken, or shattered bones
• Complete joint dislocations and the destruction of the soft connective tissue of the joints
• Damage to soft tissue and the destruction of nerve tissue
• Electrical or contact burns
• Chemical burns to the skin or internal chemical vapor damage to the lungs and respiratory system
• Severe lacerations and puncture wounds that can include damage to internal organs and internal bleeding
• Back, neck, and spinal cord damage
• Facial injuries that can involve damage to the delicate skin of the face, or the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth
• Head injuries that range in seriousness from a severe concussion or skull fracture to more impactful issues, such as a brain bleed or other traumatic brain injuries

If you are a plumber and get hurt while performing the routine tasks defined in your job description, the California worker’s comp program will provide some very helpful and valuable benefits that include:

• Complete coverage of all medical expenses related to the workplace injuries up to a total cost of $1M per incident
• If the harm from being injured while doing plumbing work prevents you from working until you are fully healed, the program will pay you up to 66% of your regular weekly income to help cover the cost of your living expenses
• If the injuries suffered while doing plumbing work result in partial or temporary limitations that diminish your earning potential, the program will provide disability compensation to offset that loss
• If the result of your injuries is so severe that you will never be able to return to work in the plumbing field, the worker’s comp program will provide free vocational training to help you prepare for a new job once you are healed and ready to rejoin the workforce.

Some workers want to know if they are allowed to sue their employer for added compensation above the amount of their worker’s comp benefits. The short answer is that in most cases, a worker who is hurt on the job is not permitted to file a personal injury lawsuit against their employer. They must only use the benefits from worker’s comp to help cover losses and expenses. The program was created to help workers cover medical costs and protect them from excessive debt caused by a workplace injury. However, there is also a second purpose for the program, which is to protect employers from excessive personal injury lawsuits filed against them by workers who got hurt while at work.

Employers pay 100% of the cost of the worker’s comp program operation and benefits. Workers never pay any of the costs of their coverage. This is clearly a great help to workplace injury victims. The perk for employers is that by paying the cost of the coverage for workers, the program protects them from suffering the cost and time to manage personal injury lawsuits filed by employees. The only time a worker who was hurt on the job can file a personal injury lawsuit against their employer is when there was gross negligence involved in the incident.

For example, imagine a plumber reports to their boss that the torch they use to sweat copper pipe is damaged and the flame cannot be controlled. The plumber worries that the flame will enlarge and they will get burned, so they ask for a new torch. But the employer tells them to make do with the damaged torch and try not to get burned. A few days later, the flame on the torch increases dramatically and unexpectedly when the plumber is using it and catches their shirt on fire, causing the plumber to suffer severe burns. Because the employer knew about the safety hazard and ignored it or refused to correct it, they could be accused of being grossly negligent by ignoring the safety of the plumber. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team at DTLA Law Group if you believe that gross negligence was a factor in your workplace incident that caused you to be injured while doing plumbing work.

If you are interested in opening a worker’s compensation claim, you have only 30 days from the date of the injury incident to contact the program and open the claim. If you wait longer than 30 days and then contact the office to open a claim, it will likely be immediately denied, and you will not be eligible for any benefits or financial help.

If you wish to pursue legal action based on gross negligence, you have two years from the date of the incident to file your case with the court, As with all personal injury lawsuits, this time limit is strictly enforced and once it has passed, you will no longer have the legal right to take action to secure compensation for the losses and expenses created by that particular injury incident.

When you work with the expert legal team at DTLA Law Group, you never need to be concerned about the added hardship created by out of pocket payments. Our firm will handle any lawsuit with legal merit and only get paid for our time and reimbursed for the monetary investment we made to prepare the lawsuit after the matter is resolved. At that time, our client will have the compensation that includes funds to cover their legal fees and other expenses. Finally, if the experts at DTLA Law Group fail to win your personal injury lawsuit and get you the compensation you need to cover your bills, you owe the firm nothing. Please reach out today to learn more.

Due to the structure of the worker’s comp program and rules when it was created, most injured farm workers are not permitted to sue their employer for workplace injuries. The protection from lawsuits filed by hurt workers is one of the primary benefits provided to employers for covering the cost of this program and enrollment for all their employees.

The only exception to this rule is when there is gross negligence on the part of the employer that caused or contributed to the employee’s injuries. In these cases, gross negligence is loosely defined as a complete lack of care or concern for the safety of workers. For example, if an employer is repeatedly told that a piece of equipment is damaged or broken and is a safety hazard to employees, they should swiftly repair or replace it. However, if the employer’s reaction is to refuse to correct the safety issues and continue to require the workers to use the unsafe tool or equipment, they are showing a lack of concern for worker safety. If a worker suffers an injury because of that known hazardous piece of equipment, they could have grounds to file a lawsuit against their employer for gross negligence. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with DTLA Law Group today to discuss the facts of your injury incident with a farm worker injury attorney if you feel gross negligence could have been a factor, or you have questions regarding a worker’s compensation claim.

When you reach out to DTLA Law Group to discuss the facts of a farm worker injury incident, please know that our firm never demands any upfront payments or expenses from a new client. Even after the free consultation, we will handle any case with legal merit and never get paid until the lawsuit is completed. This ensures that all injury victims have access to the same exceptional legal services our expert attorneys provide. Finally, if you have grounds for a lawsuit and our farm worker injury attorney fails to win the case and get you the compensation you need and deserve, you owe DTLA Law Group nothing for the time and investment made in building your lawsuit.

Please make time soon to contact the caring and helpful staff at DTLA Law Group to discuss the details of your workplace injury incident and if you have reason to consult with a DTLA Law Group farm worker injury attorney to secure any compensation that is owed to you before it is too late to take legal action or use the benefits provided to all workplace injury victims buy the California worker’s comp program.

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