Legal Question in Personal Injury in Massachusetts
Third-party Liability
I was injured at work. I amputated the tip of my index finger on my dominant hand. After several surgeries, it is down to the first knuckle. I was employed by a hospital, and we were moving old hospital beds onto a man's truck for him to take them away to get scrapped. The man was not an employee of the hospital. I was on his truck when the incident occured. My question is: Is there any third-party liabilty involved here? I'm not sure if the man was working on his own, or for a company. Would his car insurance have any involvement here?
Also, I was given no safety equipment. Would this constitute negligence, and allow me to sue my employer? I was told by a lawyer that I was only eligible for normal workmen's compensation, but I would dearly like another opinion. If there is any possibility, I'd like to pursue it.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Third-party Liability
Assuming that this accident occurred in Massachusetts and that Massachusetts law applies, there may be some third party liability depending on whether there was negligence on the part of the man who you were helping or his employer. Without knowing more about the circumstances of the accident, it is impossible to say whether you might have a meritorious claim for negligence or for some other theory of liability. Insurance may be recoverable from the mans auto insurance policy, his commercial liability policy if he was in business for himself, his homeowner's policy or policies held by any employer.
It is doubtful that you have a claim against your own employer for negligence if your employer paid to participate in the worker's comp system. The worker's comp. system covers workplace injuries whether or not they were caused by negligence on the part one's employer.
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