QUESTION
Should I get paid time off from work?
Asked on Mar 27th, 2013 on Personal Injury - Michigan
More details to this question:
I slipped and fell down some stairs and broken my neck, back, leg, both hips, both arms and six ribs. I found out I can never walk or move my neck again. I am always in a lot of pain. I am in a big back and neck brace and can't sit up. I live alone and now have a live in nurse. I have had to pay for all this my slelf but I don't get paid because I don't go to work. Is this legal?
16 ANSWERS
Ronald A. Steinberg
You have to prove the the slip and fall was due (legally) to the negligence of the property owner under the law of the state in which you live. If you cannot prove it, then you cannot sue. You must prove that 1) there was a defect, and 2) that the property owner knew of it prior to your falling and could have fixed it, but didn't, or that it existed for an unreasonably long period of time before you fell, and 3) that you could not see it in advance. It is like being pregnantall or none.
Answered on Apr 02nd, 2013 at 8:59 PM
It depends on the facts. If you fell at work, you can get workers compensation coverage. If at a business, you should sue the business if it was negligent. If at someone else's home, you should make a claim on their insurance. If at your home, you should check your insurance coverage.
Answered on Apr 01st, 2013 at 2:13 AM
Auto Accidents Attorney serving St. Paul, MN
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Arechigo & Stokka, P.A.
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If there's potential liability from the landowner who's steps you slipped on, and you were employed prior to your accident, you can make lost wages a part of a lawsuit against the landowner. This assumes, of course, that the landowner had some duty to try to prevent your injury.
Answered on Mar 31st, 2013 at 8:33 PM
Auto Attorney serving Bloomfield Hills, MI
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Gregory M. Janks, P.C.
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If you/your employer had disability insurance, you can make a claim against same for short, and perhaps long, term disability. This pays a portion of your lost wages. If you injury was while you were on the job, workers compensation should cover a portion of wage loss and medical expenses. If someone, other than you, was negligent in causing your fall, you may have a 3rd party tort case against them for all your damages. However, premises liability law in Michigan makes such claims exceedingly difficult unless there is a statutory duty violated and/or someone actively created a hazardous condition that lead to your fall/injuries.
Answered on Mar 28th, 2013 at 3:04 PM
I need more details before I am able to answer your question. Is your work-related? If your answer is yes then your employer or employers worker's compensation carrier has to pay you up to 104 weeks of temporary disability benefits. If your accident is not work-related, then you will have to settle your case high enough to cover for loss wages in addition to pain and suffering and future medical treatment.
Answered on Mar 28th, 2013 at 3:04 PM
Please post more info, specifically, were you injured at work? Do you have any form of supplemental disability insurance (AFLAC, for example)? Do you have a potential claim for the slip and fall and your subsequent injuries? The short answer is, you are not automatically entitled to time off work just because you are injured - certainly not paid time off. Under certain conditions, that equation changes. Need more info to intelligently assist you though.
Answered on Mar 28th, 2013 at 3:03 PM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Kent, WA
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Law Offices of Wayne J. Wimer, Inc. P.S.
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We are not supposed to answer by saying "Hire a lawyer", but if there was a defective stair and/or other negligence on the part of the owner of the property, and you sustained so much permanent bodily injury and loss of income or loss of earnings potential together with future medical expenses, you should be hiring a lawyer on an immediate basis.
Answered on Mar 28th, 2013 at 3:02 PM
Insurance Defense Attorney serving Oceanside, CA
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Manuel J. Rodriguez
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Did you slip and fall at work?
Answered on Mar 28th, 2013 at 3:01 PM
Thomas Edward Gates
You need to retain a personal injury attorney.
Answered on Mar 28th, 2013 at 3:00 PM
Commercial Contracts Attorney serving Boise, ID
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Peters Law, PLLC
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Did you get hurt at work? If so, you have a worker's comp claim. If you fell when you were not working, then no, your employer does not have to give you paid time off. You can't do the job so they do not have to employ you.
Answered on Mar 28th, 2013 at 3:00 PM
James Eugene Hasser
If you were on the job when the accident happened, Comp should cover all that. You should also need to carefully examine the cause of your fall to see if there is any third party liability. Talk with a lawyer familiar with both accident and comp law.
Answered on Mar 28th, 2013 at 3:00 PM
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Syracuse, NY
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Andrew T. Velonis, P.C.
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The question is unclear. Were you injured at work? If so, you have grounds for a worker's compensation claim. Worker's comp covers medical expenses and time out of work. You cannot sue your employer for negligence and damages for "pain and suffering" is not available. If you have a permanent injury, you may be able to get a "schedule award" which is based on a formula depending on the extent of your disability and your rate of pay, offset by payments that you have already received. But you should get some advice as to whether the schedule award is your best option. Depending on your situation, you may be better off getting disability payments and having your medical expenses taken care of. There may be another possibility, if there some party other than your employer who caused the accident, such as a janitorial company or repair service. Accidents that occur on construction sites or car crashes during the course of employment have particular rules as well. If the accident did not occur in the course of employment, you would have to show that your fall was due to someone's negligence. Find a personal injury lawyer in your area, there are many who would be glad to give you a free consulation.
Answered on Mar 28th, 2013 at 2:59 PM
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Anderson, SC
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The David F. Stoddard Law Firm
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It is certainly legal for you to pay your own expenses. You did not say how you slipped and fell. If it was your own fault, then you cannot make someone else pay your bills. There are sometimes government programs that will help such as Medicaid and Social Security Disability. If you fell because of someone else's negligence (for example, if the building was owned by someone else, and the steps were dangerous because they were not up to code), then you are still responsible for your expenses, but you could sue the person whose negligence caused the fall, in the lawsuit, seek damages for lost ages, the cost of care, and pain and suffering.
Answered on Mar 28th, 2013 at 2:58 PM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Kansas City, MO
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Nash & Franciskato Law Firm
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It is difficult to answer your question without more details about your fall. Where were you at the time of the fall and what were you doing? Is this a workers compensation claim or a personal injury claim against a person or corporation?
Answered on Mar 28th, 2013 at 2:58 PM
No one owes an injured person pay just because they were injured. The cause of the injury must be someone's fault; someone that has a duty to the injured person. This isn't as easily answered as you might think and because you suffered such serious injuries the only answer is for you to see a lawyer that handles personal injury cases.
Answered on Mar 28th, 2013 at 2:57 PM
Appellate Attorney serving Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
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Musilli Brennan Associates, PLLC
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Sadly, the economic reality is that you are paid for working. Unless the injury is work related your employer has no requirement to pay you for not working
Answered on Mar 28th, 2013 at 2:56 PM