Slip And Fall Injury While Working

[geol19]

My 17 year old daughter works for McDonalds and she slipped and fell on her back on a piece of ice that a co-worker threw on the floor horse-playing around. She is very hurt, do I have a claim?

[Stephen]

Tina, I am sorry to hear about your daughter’s injury. You do not say where you live or where your daughter works. I practice law in New York so I will answer based on the laws of New York. The short answer is that although your daughter qualifies for New York Worker’s Compensation benefits, she cannot sue her employer for damages. Here is the good news for your daughter. If she was injured on the job in New York, she automatically qualifies for Workers’ Compensation and her employer should file a claim on her behalf immediately. Workers’ Compensation will cover her medical expenses and reimburse her for cash losses. If she must miss more than seven days of work due to a work-related injury or illness, Workers’ Compensation will partially reimburse her lost wages. The amount she receives will depend upon her average weekly wage for the previous year.  The maximum amount paid cannot exceed $500 per week.

Your daughter does not need to prove that anyone was at fault to receive Workers’ Compensation benefits. In fact, she could have made the mistake herself that led to your injury. As long as the injury occurred while on the job, she qualifies for NY Workers’ Compensation benefits. She does not have to sue anyone to receive these benefits . In exchange for giving employees these benefits, the NY Workers’ Compensation law limits the ability to seek additional damages from an employer. In short, since your daughter was hurt on the job, she can collect Workers’ Compensation benefits, but she cannot sue her employer for additional compensation for her injuries even if her employer or a co-employee was negligent.

I hope that your daughter has a full and speedy recovery.

Carol L. Schlitt

223 Wall Street, Suite 357

Huntington, NY 11743

631-425-9775

[email protected]

www.SchlittLaw.comhttp://NYLawThoughts.com