Injury from falling freight
 

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!

Did you report it to your company?

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.

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.

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!

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 :lol:

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

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:

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.