My name is Arlene, and two years ago, I was involved in a car accident that wasn't my fault. I had some injuries that required a hospital stay, and I was unable to return to work for several weeks. I didn't know how I was going to pay my bills, and it was very stressful for me. My friend told me that I needed to hire an accident and personal injury attorney so I could recover my lost wages and medical costs. I was so glad that I hired the attorney, and my stress level immediately went down. Through the attorney, I was able to get a settlement, and I was no longer in financial trouble. I am writing this blog to let everyone know the importance of hiring an attorney after an accident. It's my wish that this blog will help others who are in similar situations.
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Reasons Why Stubbed Toes And Papercuts Do Not Count As "Personal Injuries" Under The Law
Mattie Bennett
There are several smaller injuries that occur at work every day, and some people attempt to sue for worker's comp for these injuries. It almost becomes a standing joke in some places, but the expense these lawsuits incur is no laughing matter. Before you decide to consult and/or hire a personal injury lawyer, you should know the reasons why lesser injuries in the workplace are not "personal injuries" as defined by the law.
Personal Injury Law
Personal injury law covers the severe injuries for which your employer clearly should shoulder some of the responsibility. It also covers injuries wherein there is evidence of negligence, or, as is the case with doctors, medical malpractice injuries. These are often very serious cases involving accidental situations that could have been prevented, or instances where someone knew that injury could be caused and did not stop it from happening.
Either way, the resulting injuries have a deep impact on your life; they prevent you from working either temporarily or permanently and they cause you a lot of financial harm. That is why stubbed toes, paper cuts, cardboard cuts, stapled fingers, sheared fingernails, and other lesser injuries are not covered under the law—because they do not prevent you from working or remaining gainfully employed. Additionally, they are instances where your employer or someone else could not have predicted or prevented the outcome, and you caused the injury to yourself.
Exceptions to the Rules
Like any branch of law, there are always exceptions to the rules or special circumstances. If, in the course of taking care of a minor injury, you develop sepsis or septic shock or discover that you have broken a few bones when you smacked your toes with a shelving unit that fell onto them from a low height, then you may still qualify for personal injury. Because the minor injuries led to major health issues, lost work, and lost wages, your sliced finger or banged toes suddenly becomes a case a lawyer will take. However, you will need to prove that your dramatic change in circumstances was not personal negligence on your part (e.g., you did not go to the doctor when body parts started to turning weird colors or you did not feel like yourself).
In the case of systemic infections, you also have to prove that the devices that caused your minor injuries were contaminated with a ton of bacteria. For example, if you accidentally nicked your finger on the spinning blade of a butcher's meat slicer, and the slicer had not been cleaned in weeks, that could be the source of the infection and the cause of your current situation. Your lawyer would have to acquire a swab sample of the slicer's table and blade and have them tested before you could proceed with your case.
For more information and advice, contact a personal injury lawyer at a law firm like The Bernstein Law Firm.
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