Nashville truck driver David Scales suffered debilitating injuries in a 2010 work accident, when a forklift backed up and rolled over him as he was walking toward a shipping office to complete a delivery at the end of the work day. The accident resulted in multiple devastating injuries, including ripped tendons in his arm and injuries to his neck and back. Scales, 48, was employed by a local trucking company called MS Logistics at the time of the accident, and has since been at war with the company over tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills. Scales isn’t the only Tennessee worker feeling the sting of an unpaid work injury claim though; approximately 100,000 injured workers in the state suffer similar hardships every year when they sustain injuries on the job and file a workers’ compensation claim. If you were injured in an on-the-job accident in Tennessee, contact our qualified workers’ compensation lawyers at Michael D. Ponce & Associates today for help filing a claim.
Scales was fired by MS Logistics shortly after the Tennessee work accident in 2010, although the company claims the termination was for a matter unrelated to his claim for benefits. Scales recently filed a retaliatory discharge lawsuit in addition to seeking additional workers’ compensation benefits, as he says most of his injuries resulting from the workplace accident haven’t been covered by his employer. Despite reforms that have sought to streamline the TN workers’ compensation process and keep costs down, many injured workers face long delays and ineffective solutions when filing a workers’ compensation claim for a work-related injury in Tennessee. And while the premium rates paid by Tennessee employers are among the highest in the South, a recent report issued by WorkComp Strategies of Virginia indicates that case outcomes for injured workers are worsening across the state of Tennessee.
According to the WorkComp study, which was commissioned by state officials, Tennessee’s workers’ compensation system is plagued by unnecessary delays, the court process is inconsistent, and there is significant confusion and misinformation about the way the system works. And while the volume of TN workers’ compensation claims has been steadily decreasing since 2004, employee advocates warn that this trend isn’t necessary an indicator of fewer workplace injuries. According to some, companies have taken steps to keep total claims down, and some even discourage workers from reporting on-the-job injuries, or penalize them for doing so. If you have suffered injuries in a Tennessee work accident, our workers’ compensation attorneys at Michael D. Ponce & Associates can help. Contact our Nashville law firm today, and Michael D. Ponce and his team of knowledgeable workers’ comp lawyers can help you navigate the sometimes complicated process of filing a claim and seeking the benefits you deserve for your injuries.