Friend needs Workman's Comp advice (hope it's ok to post this here)

[moonpie57]

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to ask, but here goes. I have a friend that recently had a problem at work that landed her in the hospital. This should be covered under workman's comp. She works at a body shop at a car dealership. She had to go into the paint shop to check on a customers car and had a reaction to some fumes. Needless to say she won't be able to keep going into that area. She should be able to return to work on Monday, however,the doctor has put her on some kind of inhaler indefinately. Her sister feels she needs a lawyer. Neither of us have ever had any dealings with workman's comp and just need some advice.

[zygoat]

She does not need a Lawyer. She needs a job that doesn't include paint fumes.

[jocon307]

This should be covered under workers comp, for hospital costs, loss of pay for days missed, etc. However, if she wants to pursue some larger claim for permanent/long term impairment; third party complaint against the paint manufacturer, etc. she will certainly need to consult an attorney. What state did this happen in?

[The_Victor]

Workman's comp should cover her medical expenses. After that OSHA and the Americans with Disabilities Act requires her employer to provide her with work duties that will not involve exposure to the paint fume (I'm assuming an allergic reaction). She just needs to talk to her boss without a lawyer (at first). If her boss tries to fire her or force her to work in the problem area, then she will need a lawyer.

[moonpie57]

This should be covered under workers comp, for hospital costs, loss of pay for days missed, etc. However, if she wants to pursue some larger claim for permanent/long term impairment; third party complaint against the paint manufacturer, etc. she will certainly need to consult an attorney. What state did this happen in?

This happened in Georgia.

[Fire137]

The dealership should have a written policy on what happens when an employee gets injured. The question is did she immeadiatly have the reaction at work? Did she notify her supervisor, fill out an employee injury report, was an ambulance called or did someone drive her to the hospital? The injury should be covered by workman's comp. if she reported it. Paperwork and documentation are critical.

• get all associated paperwork including any and all documentation.
• Present the bill to the employer
• If they still refuse to pay you will have to get in touch with an attorney that specializes in workmen's comp cases. Also: if she did not report the injury until after she left work you have got a battle on your hands!

[ChefKeith]

Each state is different as is each insurance company.

Having dealt with it in Texas I suggest that a lawyer be retained because the first thing that the insurance company is going to do is try to put the blame on her in one form or another.

The first thing the ins. co. tried was to tell me I was faking the back injury. Right to my face!

I went through hell getting things taken care of. It took years and the only thing that the ins. co. cared about was not spending money to fix the problem.

I had 9 hearings with the state workers comp commission against the ins. co. and won all of them. Each time they sent a different rep for the ins. co. and after losing the hearing they were fired. 7 of the 9 went to work for the comp commission so they could help instead of hinder.

Bottom line GET A LAWYER! it will be solved faster than figuring out how the "game" works.

[jocon307]

"This happened in Georgia."

Sorry, can't recommend anyone. Good luck to your friend, I hope she feels much better very soon.

[Fire137]

By the way did she enter the paint booth or were they spraying outside the booth? All spraying of automotive paint I thought was required to be done in a paint booth because of the chemical composition of automotive paint and EPA regulations

[moonpie57]

She went directly into the offices (after coughing and throwing up for 20 minutes) and they called an ambulance. She was turning blue. I don't know if anyone in the office filled out any paperwork, she hasn't been back yet. This just happened on Friday (12/31). She was taken to the ER and kept overnight and was told she could return to work on Monday (1/10). Her employers have always treated her well and told her not to worry about her job. I think her sister is concerned because of possible long term problems since she will require some treatment indefinately.
Oh yeah, I don't recall seeing any booths in the paint shop, althought there may be one there.

[mlc9852]

I work for an attorney who does a lot of worker's comp. Believe me, if you don't have an attorney, you are at the mercy of your employer's worker's comp insurance company. A lot of attorneys have free consultations so find one immediately and just see what your options are. All attorneys are not sharks and do want to protect people's rights.