Orange County Job Injury Sparks Federal Lawsuit
Court documents allege that a renovation worker at an Orlando hotel was seriously injured by a defective scissor lift.
These same documents state that the victim’s injury occurred in May 2023, as he installed new televisions and speakers at the hotel’s pool. He had just finished the work using a rented “scissor lift that was equipped with their quick fold rail system” when he “properly lowered the lift with the onboard controls, and prepared to disembark lift.”
As he put his hands on the rails to exit the scissor lift, “the upper railing suddenly, and without warning, collapsed. This sudden collapse caused both of the victim’s hands to become caught in the mechanism that allows the upper rail to fold up and down.”
Sunbelt Rentals, the scissor lift’s owner, and Oshkosh Corporation, the manufacturer, denied the allegations in separate court filings. The 37-year-old victim has relocated from St. Cloud to Oklahoma where he works full time in a different career, according to his attorney.
Defective Product-Related Work Injuries
Workers’ compensation laws protect employers from liability lawsuits. In the early 1900s, injured workers gave up their right to sue in civil court as part of the Grand Bargain. However, workers’ compensation laws have limited applicability. These laws don’t apply to all job-related injuries.
Usually, workers’ comp doesn’t apply if a negligent co-worker causes an injury. Frequently, this “negligence” is an intentional tort, like an assault. If Frank jumps Joe in the parking lot, even though the injury was work related, Joe’s Tampa workers’ compensation lawyer can file a claim in civil court against Frank’s employer.
For purposes of this post, a defective product is a more important exception. As mentioned, workers’ comp laws protect employers. Manufacturers and retailers of defective products cannot hide behind workers’ comp laws and avoid facing the music.
Usually, these lawsuits allege that the product was defective or that the manufacturer (or retailer) failed to adequately warn users about known risks. The strict liability rule applies in design or manufacturing (including some retailing) injuries. A failure to warn must be negligence, or a lack of care.
Disability, Physical Rehabilitation, and Occupational Rehabilitation
All work-related injuries are temporarily or permanently disabling. Physical therapy usually allows disabled workers to get back on the job.
Usually, physical therapists strengthen injured muscles and other injured areas of the body. Brain injury physical therapy is different. Broken bones heal, but broken bones never heal. Dead brain cells don’t regenerate. Therefore, brain injury therapists must train uninjured parts of the brain to assume lost function.
If the victim’s physical disability is so severe that physical therapy won’t do the trick, occupational therapy is usually an option. Occupational therapy is the functional equivalent of going back to school and learning a new trade or profession.
Therapy benefits last up to five years in Florida. Therefore, lengthy occupational therapy is more of an option in Florida than states with shorter coverage periods.
During physical or occupational therapy, workers’ comp victims still receive lost wage replacement benefits, usually two-thirds of their average weekly wage. Civil claimants receive similar benefits in the form of a judgment for economic losses. Compensation for noneconomic losses, such as emotional distress, are also available in civil claims.
Reach Out to a Diligent Hillsborough County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to important financial benefits. For a confidential consultation with an experienced job injury lawyer in Tampa, contact Kobal Law. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
