Recently, US News & World Report told the sad story of a 21-year-old who worked at the airport and who got hurt on-the-job. The young airport employee was driving a luggage tug, which fell over. As a result of the accident, the worker lost her leg. She made a workers’ compensation claim, which was initially denied. The claim was denied because she was allegedly driving the luggage tug to meet her mother to pick up food at the time of the incident. The workers’ comp insurer said she wasn’t actually working since she was driving to meet her mom, but the workers’ compensation appeals board disagreed, overturned the benefits denial, and awarded her full workers’ comp coverage.
This young woman was not the first to be injured at an airport. Many airport workers do physically demanding work and do work with dangerous equipment and machinery like luggage tugs or other large pieces of equipment like movable tarmac stairs.
Lots of different things can go wrong while airport workers are doing their jobs, and it will be important for any injured worker to understand his or her right to make a work injury claim. An Atlanta workers’ compensation lawyer can provide assistance to victims in pursuing a case for compensation, so call an attorney right away if you work at an airport and need help getting benefits to cover your work-injury costs.
Atlanta Workers’ Compensation Should Cover Employees After Airport Injuries
If an airport worker is harmed while performing work tasks, it is important to determine if that airport worker is a federal worker or not. The federal government employs some airport employees, especially in security fields. If the injured employee is a federal worker, The Federal Employees’ Compensation Act will provide work-injury benefits for injuries occurring due to job tasks, according to the Department of Labor. For most other employees, Georgia state workers’ compensation laws will apply and the injured employee will be able to make a standard workers’ comp claim.
To make a workers’ comp claim, the injured airport worker will need to prove he or she was hurt while performing required work tasks or job duties. The Department of Labor provides a list of different kinds of accidents which have occurred recently involving airport workers. The list shows the many different ways airport workers could get hurt, from getting their fingers or limbs caught in machinery to suffering hernias or injuries caused by overexertion.
Some of the injuries described by the Department of Labor were fatal, while others ranged from causing minor injuries to causing major and permanent damage. Whatever the severity of the injury, the victim who was harmed should get disability income and coverage for medical bills through workers’ comp. If the injury causes the worker’s death, his or her family should get workers’ comp death benefits. An attorney can offer assistance in pursuing a claim for the appropriate compensation after an airport injury for airport workers.
The Atlanta workplace accident lawyers at Van Sant Law, LLC can represent employees or their families after a workplace injury or death. Call today at (800) 234-9556 or contact us online to schedule your free consultation.