Injury from falling freight

[realbus001]

Hello, Iam a owner operator leased to Schneider National.On 12/20/06 I was dispatched to deliver a Wal Mart freight to Fico in Southern California.I opened the right trailer door and the freight fall and hit on the side of my head.Without knowing that I was injured.I tried bend down to pick up the freight that had falling down back to the trailer.Thats when I notice I was injured from blood dripping down side of my face.My injury was treated by a physician at Concentra with a scalp laceration.My wound required 7 staples to close the wound.I would like to know is there something I can do about this incident?I feel that Wal Mart failed to properly secure the load.Thank you for your reply!

[allan5oh]

Did you report it to your company?

[Red Clay Rambler]

All the injury attorneys around here will have an initial consultation with you free of charge, may be the same in your area. I agree you should report it to your company if you haven't already.

When I was injured on the job, I was reluctant at first to contact an attorney since Workers Comp covered the treatment. Through the process however, I learned that in a Worker's Comp injury case, often times an attorney is the ONLY party who KNOWS the law, your rights, AND will make sure you are treated fairly, IMHO. My company HR dept., supervisors, etc. were clueless about my rights, or at least acted like they were. The insurance company that my company uses for Workers comp was definitely not looking out for my interests. The details are too long for this post. My injury involved being unable to work for two months and resulted in a partial permanent impairment to my hand/arm. Sounds like yours is not that complicated, but if you have any doubts about whether you are being treated fairly, talk to an attorney.

[allan5oh]

BTW, I hope you sincerely get better. Sounds like a bad experience to me!

I second that calling the lawyer. Make sure your company safety department knows. Maybe they can get a memo out to other drivers to prevent this.

[realbus001]

Hi, Yes I did report my injury to my company before I was treated at Concentra.I want to thank you for taking your time to reply my post.Have a wonderful holiday!

[marcel27208]

im an owner operator leased to schneider running local here in NC and ive heard a few drivers say that they have had problems when it comes to injuries on the job

[classicxl]

was the trailer sealed when you picked it up so you could not check the frieght??

[Blacksheep]

That's something they should teach drivers, how to open trailer doors without being injured or killed.
Container haulers could tell you a thing or two about falling freight. :wink:

[classicxl]

I always release the door and keep it in front of me in case something decides to come at me

[jims34]

I always release the door and keep it in front of me in case something decides to come at me

That's a good one have something heavy hit the door as you open it and you could be a goner. You need to open the right door while you stay behind the door that is still secure.

[classicxl]

that might be true if i carried something that heavy in my van that is going to push the door that hard but good suggestion for all the other drivers

[Mackman]

people allways looking to sue people

[Red Clay Rambler]

Consulting with/hiring an attorney for a Workers Comp injury almost never involves suing anyone. It is done to insure that you know your rights and are treated and compensated fairly. Most of the time the injured worker has no one else he can turn to who can/will insure that things are handled correctly. The insurance adjuster assigned to your case is trained to try to lowball your compensation in case you are permanently impaired and are to receive compensation for your impairment.

[allan5oh]

people allways looking to sue people

I don't think this individual is looking for a big windfall. He probably wants to be reimbursed for any time lost, and to make sure something like this doesn't happen again.

[marcel27208]

people allways looking to sue people

I don't think this individual is looking for a big windfall. He probably wants to be reimbursed for any time lost, and to make sure something like this doesn't happen again.

this is what we pay workmans comp for!!!!!

[ThumperS25]

This is a workers comp claim. You can sue walmart, or the shipper. Good luck with that. They have a firm or two that handles this kind of thing in their sleep.
I worked for an O/O lease to SNI and was injured while I slept. My team partner was run off the road by a phantom Swift truck. I say phantom because they never did find the T/T. Workers comp picked up all the bills along with loss wages. Of course they tried to get me back in the truck 4 days after the accident. It took 32 days for me to be well enough to get back in a truck. I refused to get back in a truck until certain medical conditions were obtained.
1. Full movement of my left knee
2. all stitches and staples were removed.
3. I was not dependent on any pain medication. (did not matter that it said on the pill bottle it didnt make me drowsey)

Your main concern is to get healthy. I hope you do.

[BanditsCousin]

Workman's comp claim.

The fact that Walmart didn't secure the load is negligable. Furthermore, you never take your eyes of the freight!! I have crap falling on me all the time!

[ssoutlaw]

Stay in this business long, and it will never happen to you again. I don't care what you haul, stand to the left of the door you are opening. I don't think you will be able to prove negligence on walmarts part! If I were a defense lawyer for walmart the 1st thing I would wonder is why if you didn't load the load why would you be so carefree and just swing the doors open. See what I mean, you have to use some common sense anywhere near a big truck. This is not an attack on you, but I think you learned a valuable lesson you will never forget.Now I know you have a work comp claim. A few yrs back I slipped in some diesel on the fuel island at a pilot. Work comp paid the claim and the surg. on the shoulder, then pilot paid a sizable injury claim then I had to pay work comp back. Always be careful when opening any trailer doors. Loads will shift and move backwards, so expect the unexpected!!!!!
Hope you are feeling better after this accident, and be safe.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.