QUESTION
Can I make my employer pay for expenses if I was injured at work?
Asked on Sep 01st, 2011 on Personal Injury - Massachusetts
More details to this question:
I am an independent contractor (but we still get paid an hourly rate). I fell off the stage and now have a separated shoulder. Due to this I will be unemployed for a couple of months to recover. I will soon face future bills and occupational therapy. What recourse, if any, will I have against my employer to help offset these expenses? By the way he has filed a police report for his insurance. I am not sure what to do next.
15 ANSWERS
Plaintiff Animal Bites Attorney serving Missoula, MT
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Bulman Law Associates PLLC
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Your situation is too complicated to email suggestions.
Answered on Jul 09th, 2013 at 1:40 AM
Personal Injury including Litigation Attorney serving Wilmington, DE
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Ramunno & Ramunno, P.A.
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Your situation depends on whether he is your employer or not ? If he is your employer then you would have a worker'scompensationclaim.
Answered on Jul 09th, 2013 at 1:36 AM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Charlotte, NC
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Paul Whitfield and Associates P.A.
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If you are an independent contractor in fact why do you think the boss owes you? I don't understand your facts. What have the police to do with anything? Whatever your boss calls you if you are not an independent but are in fact an employee then workers comp rules apply
Answered on Jul 09th, 2013 at 1:36 AM
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Montrose, NY
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Law Office of Jared Altman
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If he was responsible for your fall then you can sue. Otherwise, you are out of luck.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2013 at 1:16 AM
Alternate Dispute Resolution Attorney serving Edmond, OK
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Woska Law Firm, PLLC
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Your questions need to be presented to a plaintiff contingency fee lawyer familiar with cases involving independent contractor injuries and damage recovery. You were normally to be covered by your own policy of insurance but you need to meet with an attorney to look at the facts and law.
Answered on Sep 02nd, 2011 at 5:12 PM
Personal Injury Attorney serving St. Louis, MO
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The S.E. Farris Law Firm
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You need to file a workers' compensation claim. This will cover your lost wages, medical expenses, and a lump sum for your injury.
Answered on Sep 02nd, 2011 at 11:52 AM
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You need to contact an attorney immediately, and preferably someone familiar with both labor law and personal injury matters. There are certain test that have to be met before an employer is permitted to characterize you as an independent contractor. You might even be entitled to worker's compensation if you have been incorrectly categorized. There are other options you can pursue if you are a true independent contractor but you really need to have a consultation with someone to figure it out.
Answered on Sep 01st, 2011 at 8:59 PM
Criminal Law Attorney serving Centennial, CO
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Law Office of Mark P. Miller
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It sounds like you need to file a Workers Compensation claim. You'll need to be treated through the company doctors. Make sure that your employer has filed a WC claim. Also, for future reference you might want to make some notes as to how, where and when the accident occurred if you haven't done so already. Photos also might come in handy.
Answered on Sep 01st, 2011 at 8:12 PM
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Syracuse, NY
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Andrew T. Velonis, P.C.
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If you are an independent contractor, then you are self-employed. If you have any recourse against your client, that would have to be according to your contract. How was it that you fell? Was the property defective? Was there a foreign object or spilled substance on the floor? Absence of a safety device? Was it a structure under construction?
Answered on Sep 01st, 2011 at 8:02 PM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Austin, TX
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Law Offices of Earl K. Straight
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Since you are an independent contractor you are probably not covered by your employers workers compensation insurance, if he has any. You can make a liability claim against your employer if you can show that the fall was his fault.
Answered on Sep 01st, 2011 at 7:47 PM
Small Businesses Attorney serving Livonia, MI
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Klisz Law Office, PLLC
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You are not an employee, so are not required to be covered by their Comp insurance. You would have needed to buy your own insurance.
Answered on Sep 01st, 2011 at 7:32 PM
Gary Moore
You are in an interesting situation. In that you an independent contractor you can not file for workers' compensation benefits, if you were not an employee you can sue your "employer" if the employer was negligent. On the other hand there is the real question of whether you were an independent contractor or an employee. You should contact a workers' compensation lawyer who specializes in same, because as an employee you are entitled to no fault worker's compensation benefits paying your medical bills; providing you with income replacement benefits and entitling to receive compensation for permanent injuries.
Answered on Sep 01st, 2011 at 7:30 PM
Consult with your State's worker's compensation agency to see if you are covered by your employer. Also, you may want to consult with or retain worker's compensation attorney for legal representation. If your employer had significant control over your work schedule, job assignments and other terms and conditions of your employment, you may later be ruled by the court to be an employee rather than an independent contractor.
Answered on Sep 01st, 2011 at 4:16 PM
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The answer to your question is dependent upon whether or not you are truly an "independent contractor." In the economic times we have, some employers try to hire workers and call them "independent contractors" in order to avoid paying the employer's share of withholding taxes, as well as worker's compensation insurance and other costs. To be a truly "independent contractor" you must have your own tools or materials for work, work independently of instruction from the employer (control your own rate and pace of work), and usually work for more than one person. You should ask your employer whether or not they carry worker's compensation insurance that may cover you. If you have doubts about whether you are truly an "independent contractor" you should contact an attorney about your specific factual situation.
Answered on Sep 01st, 2011 at 4:11 PM
Business Attorney serving North Andover, MA
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Law Offices of Andrew D. Myers
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You need to retain a workers compensation attorney right away because the definition in the workers compensation statute of "independent contractor" and the common idea of what that term means are two distinct things. Employers and companies try to push workers off into the "independent contractor" category for many reasons, one of which is that there is no workers compensation coverage for true independent contractors. However, do not accept the company's definition or the insurance company's definition. The final determiners of who is an independent contractor are (a) the state worker's compensation statute, and (b) here in NH, the state labor department. I wish you the best.
Answered on Sep 01st, 2011 at 4:08 PM