A sheet metal and HVAC worker settled his construction fall injury when he was thrown from a fork lift used as a manlift by a warehouse operator. At the time the manlift injury, the property owner who owned and operated the fork lift, violated a number of WISHA regulations. The negligence in operation of an unsafe manlift resulted in the platform to tip and throw the worker to the cement floor 20 feet below. This resulted in a spinal fractures of the low back, and spinal cord injury noted by hyper-reflexia on clinical exam.

Despite the injury, which resulted in a multi-level cervical laminotomy and foraminotomy, the worker recovered fairly well over the coming years.

Unfortunately, as a result of his spinal stenosis and aggravation of underlying cervical disease, the worker can no longer return to work and a vocational assessment and economic work up of his loss of earning capacity was completed.

With worker injuries which lead to big dollar recoveries, it is important to insure you client protects his settlement recovery against friends, family and himself/herself because most people cannot appreciate and understand how to handle large six figure net recoveries. There is a risk they will quickly blow the money.

It’s important to counsel and educate your client about securing proper financial assistance to preserve their once in a lifetime chance to put money away for their retirement.

Rob Kornfeld
Rob@Kornfeldlaw.com
(425) 893-8989