I work at a lock down psych facility and Monday, May 4th I received a sucker punch by a resident with a history of violence and aggressive behavior towards staff. I was sent to the company's clinic where I had an x-ray taken as well as a drug test. Doctor confirm it was fracture and I told me it would take 6 - 8 weeks to heal, I was also given pain and infection meds for a week. As of today I haven't received any report of the incident or any information regarding what happened. No one has contacted me regarding the incident, no pictures were taken of the damage either and it seems to be pretty shady to me. Any advice on what I should do?
Steven Joseph AlvesWorkers' Compensation LawyerLos Angeles, CA ·
Assuming that you are not losing time from work, It sounds like they are treating your case as an "incident only" or first-aid claim. If you require ongoing medical treatment, you should contact your employer to request information about their insurance carrier or claims administrator for workers' comp. From there, you should contact your adjuster to discuss your case.
Cases aren't always investigated as thoroughly where it is clear that the employer has liability for the injury. Their lack of photos or reports is probably because they didn't question the injury. Did you take pictures? Were pictures taken at the clinic?
Unless the punch permanently disfigured your nose, there is a good chance that you'll have a full recovery. If you are going to fully recover with 6-8 weeks time without further treatment, an attorney isn't going to do you much good. I couldn't really say without more information.
If you have a bad feeling about how things have been handled, it's probably worth your time to meet with an attorney in person and provide all the details of your situation. Then you can receive advice specific to your situation. Here on the forum, we can only answer general questions.
You mention the resident's history of violence toward staff, perhaps there is something there. Again, we would need a lot more information that what you've given to sort that out. But that type of discussion is perfect for your in-person consultation with an attorney.
Also, I should mention that if this sucker punch happened after you instigated a fight as the intial aggressor, you would not be covered for workers' comp. It doesn't sound like that's the case, but for the sake of thoroughness, that's one potential defense that might become an issue with more facts.
Sorry about your situation. Best of luck to you.
To review any and all benefits available to you, meet with an experienced workers compensation attorney. This is an on the job injury, and there are certain benefits available to you. Pain and suffering, unfortunately, is not one of them.
Please call a lawyer. You have a work related injury and it may be worth pursuing, depending on how you heal. If your case were in New York, you could be entitled to a facial disfigurement award if your nose healed crooked. Good luck.
