Personal injury law suit?

[jabarl]

Hi, My mother had a accident while she was cleaning a clinic. She was carrying a trash bag and there was coffee in it, and it was leaking and she fell off the stairs and now she is gone have a total shoulder Arthroplasty and she has a lot of pain and she can't work and the doctor said she will never be able to work again in her life, she can't even move her arm. How much do you think she can get from a law suit?

[yehudi]

Well, what you're talking about here is a WORKERS COMPENSATION claim. She'd file a "no fault" claim with her employer to get whatever benefits your state defines. You don't get "pain and suffering" with workers comp.


If she's trying to sue someone, she'd have to sue the someone who CAUSED her injury. There's no "automatic liability" (besides workers comp) for injuries. In order to collect ANYTHING, she has to prove:

1. the person/company she is suing, did something they shouldn't have done
2. That something, directly resulted in her injury.


So . .. SHE was carrying the trash bag. It's REASONABLE to expect that there are disposed beverage cups, aka, liquids, in that plastic trash bag. SHE caused the liquid to drip on the stairs, which made her fall.

Outside of workers comp, I don't think she's going to win any kind of lawsuit. This is EXACTLY what workers comp is supposed to cover. And, if she CHOOSES to file a workers comp claim, she then automatically CANNOT file a lawsuit against her employer. Some states, even if she doesn't file the claim, the employer is immune from lawsuits, if they carry workers comp insurance.

In ANY case, her employer's "general liability" isn't going to pay a dime, for a "workers compensation" claim. Workers comp claims are specifically excluded, from general liability coverage.

I don't think mom is looking at a cash cow here.

[honi]

I'm no lawyer, but I think the amount of money you can collect from an accident caused by a hazard the person injured created is zero. If she doesn't have a disability policy or isn't covered by workman's compensation policy then she's screwed.

[webb]

Unless she is self employed she can claim workers compensation which will pay her medical bills. Other than she can't sue anyone, she caused her own injury. The chances of someone who has arthroplasty never being able to work again is very slight.

[crom]

Hey Greedy, stop counting your money. If she was cleaning she needs to file a workers compensation claim. It does not appear that there is any fault here so who would she sue?? A leaky trash bag is not anyone's liability.

[norwyn]

For some reason, the "facts" you present lack believability.