Airline Pilot’s slip and fall injury winning decision affirmed on appeal
ABRAMS LANDAU was asked to assist an Airline Captain as the result of an accident on the tarmac. This pilot slipped on a wet ramp and fell while deplaning. An Accident Report was filled out for this injury on the Air Operations Area (“A.O.A.”), and the pilot missed only two weeks from work after seeing an orthopedic doctor when he got back to Virginia. When his symptoms continued for over a year, the pilot had surgery on his left leg for a tear of the meniscus. However, there was a complication during surgery. He was hospitalized for clots as an after-effect of the surgery. He was disabled for 7 weeks thereafter and incurred medical bills in excess of $30,000. As the carrier had already denied the claim, we asked for an immediate Workers Compensation Hearing.
At trial, the ABRAMS LANDAU team won an Award for this hard-working pilot, who had worked his way up in the airline from his start as an airplane mechanic. The Workers Compensation Award included: coverage for the compensable consequence of his surgery, payment of all medical bills, travel mileage reimbursement, and future permanency. In injury cases, the responsible party may have to pay for the original injury, as well as the complications or “compensable consequences” of the original injury. This is important because this pilot’s problems all began with that fateful slip on a wet ramp while he was on the job over a year prior to the surgery itself. What seemed like an inconsequential injury turned out to be a very big deal! Luckily he sought the advice of Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau. If you or someone you know has been injured in a job-related accident with lingering effects of the injury and there are questions about your eligibility for a Workers’ Compensation claim, e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555).