Options Beyond Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp

Philadelphia Work Injury Attorney Explains Third Party Claims

Video Transcript:

Nancy Winkler: 

And you can recover for all of your pain, your suffering, your inability to work for the rest of your life, if that is what the situation is.

Tom Mustin: 

If you're injured at the workplace, can you collect damages that go beyond workers' compensation? We're gonna talk to Attorney Nancy Winkler about that on today's episode of Ask the Lawyer. Nancy, thanks for joining us.

Nancy Winkler: 

Thanks for having me.

Tom Mustin: 

Great to see you. Generally, when folks think of workplace accidents, they understand that they can get workers' comp in certain cases, but people may have additional claims when there's a serious accident or injury. Could you explain that?

Nancy Winkler: 

Certainly. Workers' compensation pays your wages and your medical bills, regardless of any kind of fall, as long as you were injured on the workplace, but that... And especially with people that have catastrophic injuries and they're seriously injured, that's just not enough. They might not be able to return to work, they lose their livelihood, and they really need to be able to take care of their families and themselves for the rest of their lives. There could be other claims for them, third-party claims, that's what we call them.

Nancy Winkler: 

For example, if there was a machine that they used, the manufacturer and the seller and the distributor of the machine could be responsible. If they fell or was injured, they were injured on their work site, and someone was responsible for maintaining the premises, they might have a claim against that entity. We've had cases over the years, involving things such as saws that people were injured on, or punch presses, lots of different types of machinery. Also when you're injured on a work site, we've had cases involving, for example, a gate that malfunctioned, that was defective. There are many, many other types of third-party injury claims that an individual might have.

Tom Mustin: 

To collect workers' comp, it doesn't really matter who's at fault. Tell us how that differs from other claims like product liability.

Nancy Winkler: 

Well, it is different. We must prove in a product liability case, you could have what's called a "negligence claim", meaning that someone was negligent for failing to maintain the product or the gate or a skylight, or whatever it might be, failure to maintain the premises. If it was owned by somebody else other than your employer, or if there was an outside maintenance company, for example, that was charged with maintaining the property and you were injured because of negligent maintenance. But there's also other types of claims for product liability cases, and that's called a strict liability claim, and that, you don't prove that someone... You don't need to prove that someone was negligent as long as the product itself, when it was sold and manufactured, it was defective. For example, as I talked about just a moment ago, we have a case involving a gate that we believe was defective when it was manufactured.

Nancy Winkler: 

We have had cases over the years for folks that have been injured on a work site when they were using some type of saw, where there was not... There wasn't a guard that was guarding the pinch point, so that the person's clothing or their hand was sucked into the machinery. And in those cases, the injuries could be very, very tragic, and really life-altering, especially for a person that works with their hands for a living. And if you are able to prove that somehow the product was defective when it left the manufacturer's control, or the seller had sold it in a defective condition, then you have what's called a "strict liability claim" against that entity. And you can recover for all of your pain, your suffering, your inability to work for the rest of your life, if that is what the situation is. The recoveries are much, much more significant than a regular workers' compensation plan.

Tom Mustin: 

And how long do these cases usually take? Say, you're suffering from a serious accident and you're having to pay medical bills right away, how does that work?

Nancy Winkler: 

Well, things... Unfortunately, we're in pandemic time, so sometimes things take longer than they used to, but one thing that's very helpful in a workers' comp related claim, your medical bills and all of your wage loss will be covered by your employer's workers' compensation carrier. Now, this very significant claim, the claim for example, a defective product, or something that was failed to maintain on the premises that is owned or maintained by somebody else other than your employer, those claims could take longer, they could take a couple of years to come to trial or to resolve. However, in the interim, you are being covered by your workers' compensation carrier, and they have a significant interest in trying to cooperate with you and your attorney that is pursuing the third-party case. And the reason for that is, they have a right to what's called "subrogation," they have a right to get back a portion of what they've paid out to you all along in your compensation for your lost wages, and your medical expenses, but that's only a small portion of what you would hopefully be able to expect to recover if it is a very significant injury case where you can prove that the product that was being used was defective.

Tom Mustin: 

And just in terms of a timeline here, how long do people have to file a case? And can they have their situation reviewed free of charge?

Nancy Winkler: 

Well, of course, they can have their situation reviewed free of charge, at least in my firm. When you contact me or any of my colleagues in my office, we are more than glad to speak with you to investigate a potential claim and you never owe us anything, for our time or for our expenses. Or even if we have experts review matters, you don't owe us a dime, unless we get a recovery for you either by way of settlement or verdict. In terms of filing a claim, you have two years from the date of accident to file a lawsuit.

Tom Mustin: 

Oh, okay.

Nancy Winkler: 

I should say that we are talking about... Here, I am in Philadelphia. We're talking about Pennsylvania and New Jersey, that you would have two years to file a claim. It could be different across the country, depending upon what their laws are, but that is the case in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Tom Mustin: 

Okay. Well, I'm glad you clarified that. So, thank you very much for your expertise, great to talk to you, Nancy, appreciate it.

Nancy Winkler: 

Great to talk to you. Thank you.

Tom Mustin: 

And that's gonna do it for this episode of Ask the Lawyer. My guest has been Nancy Winkler. If you wanna ask Nancy a question about your situation, call the number you see on your screen. Thanks for watching. I'm Tom Mustin for Ask the Lawyers.

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