Restoration Contractor: Workers Comp Claim Scenario

From time to time we encounter various claim scenarios that we feel are important to share either because of their unique nature or the frequency in which restoration companies experience this type of claim.

A worker was injured when he attempted to break a rotten piece of wood by jumping on it. Instead of breaking the board, the employee actually hyperextended his knee and fractured the bone right beneath it. The break required surgery, and the worker was forbidden from doing anything that put weight on his leg for three months.

A few weeks later the injured employee began physical therapy where it was discovered that he was also suffering from a meniscal tear and osteoarthritis. He has now been out of work for over a year and is still continuing physical therapy with limited mobility in his leg.

With the missed time at work, multiple surgeries and physical therapy, the restoration contractor’s workers compensation company has now paid out over $200,000. The most frustrating part is that the loss was completely avoidable and was 100 percent due to poor judgment by the employee.

The appropriate action would have been for the employee to use a hand tool or saw to remove the rotted section of wood.