Personal Injury At Work? Make Sure You Have Worker’s Compensation

Clore Law · November 25 2015

Don't fall victim of the defense, "there's nothing wrong with the floor." If you trip over something at work and fall, suffering a personal injury, you should be covered by the worker's compensation laws. What happens, though, if you have a simple fall at work on a level floor or smooth carpet and there's no obvious reason for the fall? What if your employer tells you that you cannot claim worker's compensation as nothing's wrong with the floor? Let's look at three scenarios.

Situation 1

Let's assume that Lara is walking down the hallway in her employer's office with an armload of files and she trips over a magazine that has mistakenly been dropped on the floor by a client. Will she be covered under worker's compensation laws? In this case, yes, as she has suffered a personal injury by accident at work during the course of her employment. As the worker's compensation system is considered a "no fault" system, so whether or not Lara could avoid the accident becomes irrelevant.

Situation 2

Now let's assume Lara is walking down the hallway at work with an armload of files and loses her balance, falling for no particular reason. There was nothing on the floor, so is she covered for this personal injury? Again, yes, Lara only needs to prove a causal connection between the conditions under which her work is required to be carried out and the resulting injury. Even though the fall is "unexplained," it does not preclude her from compensation.

Situation 3

Now let's assume Lara has a bad knee that's been bothersome for some time. As she walks down the hall at work with her arms full of files, her bad knee gives in and she falls. Nothing was on the floor to cause the fall and as she was being helped up she mentioned that her knee gave in. Will worker's compensation laws cover her? Not in this case. In this situation, Lara would have to be found to have suffered an "idiopathic fall." That means the fall was caused by an existing medical condition. This is a lot different to an unexplained fall, such as in situation 2. With an idiopathic fall, burden of proof is on Lara's employer to establish that the fall was caused by an inherent medical condition – the bad knee.

The Moral of The Story

If you suffer a personal injury as a result of a fall at work, you are covered by worker's compensation provided a work hazard, such as a spill or object on the floor, was the cause of the fall, or if the fall cannot be explained.

When To Contact An Attorney

If you fall at work and have any questions regarding a claim, please contact the team at Clore Law. We have years of experience dealing with worker's compensation and can help you recover the funds you are entitled to. Call today at: 843-722-8070.