Excess of $5 Million Recovered in Workers Comp Immunity Case
A man in his late 40’s, working for an industrial corporation, was badly burned on the job. He was referred to Martinez Manglardi after he discovered that even his recovery would be limited by Florida’s worker’s compensation law to past and future medical needs and limited loss wages. Despite enduring burns over 60% of his body which required several lengthy and painful surgeries and resulted in significant permanent scarring, Florida worker’s compensation law barred any recovery for non-economic damages, including his pain and suffering. Martinez Manglardi argued that this case fit a rare exception in the worker’s compensation law which could allow a claim under general negligence principles rather than being limited to those restricted claims permitted under the worker’s compensation act.
Martinez Manglardi embarked on an extensive investigation that included site inspections, meticulous document reviews and consultations with the foremost experts in the industry. The investigation uncovered information that included the fact that the activity being performed was a known dangerous condition, that there were no policies and/or procedures on how the dangerous work was to be performed and that other employees had been injured in the past doing similar types of work. Armed with the discovered evidence, Martinez Manglardi asserted that the employer’s actions constituted gross negligence. Ultimately the client’s total recovery amounted to in excess of $5 Million Dollars. But for the diligence of the attorneys and staff at Martinez Manglardi, the recovery would have been limited by the very stringent Florida workers compensation immunity laws.
