Case Results - Third Party Personal Injury Claims
Third party personal injury claims pay compensation for lost wages, medical expenses, and pain and suffering. These claims are permitted in addition to workers’ compensation claims for work related injuries.
The following list of results that Gary Levine has achieved for clients is a sampling of cases in which he has obtained additional compensation for clients in third party negligence claims arising out of work related injuries.
Click on each case to read a more detailed summary of the facts and result achieved in each case:
- Claim against company for improperly loading material onto flatbed
- Claim against general contractor for failing to ensure use of fall protection equipment
- Claim against employer’s automobile insurance company and driver of automobile for auto accident
- Claim against general contractor for failure to ensure safe worksite
- Claim against employer’s automobile insurance company for hit and run auto accident
- Claim against owner of premises for failing to maintain property
- Claim against elevator company for failure to maintain elevator
Claim against company for improperly loading material onto flatbed
Injury: Crush injury to foot
Award/Settlement: $875,000
Case Summary: Client’s employer received a delivery of material on a flatbed truck. Client was unloading the material when it fell off the truck and landed on his foot. Workers’ compensation benefits were paid.
A negligence claim was filed against the company that loaded the material onto the truck. The basis for the claim was that the material was not loaded in a manner that made it safe for unloading, thus causing it to fall off the truck. The company denied liability on the grounds that the material was loaded properly and that client’s employer should not have allowed its employees to unload the truck if it felt it was unsafe to do so.
Claim against general contractor for failing to ensure use of fall protection equipment
Injury: Multiple fractures, abdominal and head injury
Award/Settlement: $650,000
Case Summary: Client was employed by a sub-contractor who had a contract with a general contractor to perform work on the exterior of a building. Client was working without fall protection equipment when he fell from the third floor ledge of the building. Workers’ compensation benefits were paid.
A negligence claim was filed against the general contractor for its failure to ensure that fall protection equipment was provided for use by client. The general contractor claimed that fall protection equipment was available for client but client refused to use it.
Claim against employer’s automobile insurance company and driver of automobile for auto accident
Injury: Herniated disc
Award/Settlement: $540,000
Case Summary: Client was involved in an automobile accident. Workers’ compensation benefits were paid. A negligence claim was filed against the owner of the car that hit client.
The owner of the car did not carry sufficient insurance to fully compensate client for his injuries. Therefore, claims for underinsured motorist coverage benefits were filed under client’s automobile insurance policy and under his employer’s automobile insurance policy.
The employer’s insurance company denied coverage on the basis that client cannot make a claim against the employer for a work related injury. A lawsuit was filed on client’s behalf against the insurance company seeking a court order requiring coverage on the basis that client’s claim is not against the employer for negligence but against its insurance policy under which client is insured as an employee. The lawsuit was successful in allowing client to recover under the employer’s automobile insurance policy.
Claim against general contractor for failure to ensure safe worksite
Injury: Carbon monoxide poisoning
Award/Settlement: $300,000
Case Summary: Client was employed by a sub-contractor that had a contract with a general contractor to perform work on the interior of a building. Client was working in an enclosed area in the vicinity of gasoline powered equipment that was provided by his employer. Client was injured through inhalation of carbon monoxide fumes from the equipment. Workers’ compensation benefits were paid.
A negligence claim was filed against the general contractor for its failure to ensure that a safe work environment was provided for client by the sub-contractor.
Claim against employer’s automobile insurance company for hit and run auto accident
Injury: Corneal laceration and post-traumatic cataract
Award/Settlement: $200,000
Case Summary: Client was injured in a hit and run auto accident while he was traveling from his home to a repair shop to pick up a company vehicle. Workers’ compensation benefits were paid.
A claim for uninsured motorist coverage benefits was made against the automobile insurance companies that provided coverage to client, client’s employer and client’s child who resided with client. This was not technically a third party claim because the claim was not against the person who caused the accident. The claim was against insurance policies under which client was insured, including the insurance policy of his employer.
Claim against owner of premises for failure to maintain property
Injury: Neck and rotator cuff tear
Award/Settlement: $87,000
Case Summary: Client slipped and fell on ice outside of the building where he was employed. His employer was the only occupant of the building. The building was owned by a company that was separate from his employer. Workers’ compensation benefits were paid.
A negligence claim was filed against the owner of the building for failing to keep the area outside of the building free of snow and ice. The owner of the building denied liability on the grounds that it had a contract with client’s employer stating that client’s employer was responsible for snow and ice removal in the area where client fell.
Claim against elevator company for failure to maintain elevator
Injury: Carpal tunnel syndrome
Award/Settlement: $54,000
Case Summary: Client tripped and fell while exiting the elevator in a building owned by the employer. Workers’ compensation benefits were paid.
Client tripped when the elevator door did not open level with the floor. The basis for the negligence claim was that the malfunction was due to negligent maintenance of the elevator. A negligence claim was filed against the company that was responsible for maintenance of the elevator. The maintenance company denied liability on the grounds that it had serviced the elevator on numerous occasions before client fell and recommended repair work to client’s employer but client’s employer refused to have repair work done.
