A forklift accident can leave you with serious injuries and questions about how you will pay for treatment or replace lost income. A Toledo forklift accident lawyer can help you understand your rights and take the next steps in an Ohio workers’ compensation claim.
Schaffer & Associates is a small, local northwest Ohio workers’ compensation firm serving Toledo and the surrounding area. We are local workers’ compensation attorneys, and our lawyers grew up here in northwest Ohio. When you call, you will speak directly with an attorney and work with the same people throughout your case.
A Toledo forklift accident attorney regularly handles these serious workplace injuries. Forklifts are common on warehouse and construction sites, but their weight and limited visibility can make an accident severe. A worker can be hurt when a forklift tips over or strikes a person, or when someone is crushed or pinned between the machine and a fixed object.
A forklift injury can cause crush injuries, fractures, or damage to the head and spine. Medical records should connect the condition to the accident and explain how it affects your ability to work. Workplace records can also matter, so it helps to gather items such as:
Gathering these records early strengthens the claim and helps establish exactly how the collision happened.
A Toledo forklift injury attorney can outline the benefits an Ohio claim may provide. The main path after a forklift tip-over in Toledo is usually a workers’ compensation claim through the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC). Ohio workers’ compensation is generally no-fault, so you usually do not have to prove that your employer was negligent to receive covered benefits.
Benefits can include treatment authorized through a BWC physician and compensation for lost wages, along with awards for lasting impairment. The BWC reviews the reported injury and the medical and workplace records before making claim decisions. The claim should identify the injured body parts and describe the accident accurately. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 4123.84, a worker generally must file the claim within one year of the injury date.
A forklift accident attorney in Toledo also tracks the deadlines that apply to other claims. Some Toledo warehouse accident cases may involve options beyond the basic BWC claim. If an employer violated a specific Ohio safety requirement involving forklift operation or training, and that violation caused the injury, you may seek an additional VSSR award on top of workers’ compensation benefits.
A defective forklift or part may support a separate product-liability claim. A claim may also exist against a non-employer third party, such as another contractor or the forklift owner or maintainer. Ohio Revised Code Section 2305.10 generally gives two years to bring bodily-injury and product-liability claims. A direct claim against an employer is much narrower. Ohio Revised Code Section 2745.01 requires proof that the employer intended the injury or believed it was substantially certain to occur.
Schaffer & Associates can file your claim correctly and organize the medical and workplace evidence. We can review whether the allowed conditions reflect the full injury and prepare for hearings when a dispute continues. We can also challenge a denial and appeal benefits that were wrongly refused. Our small firm gives you steady guidance without passing your case from person to person.
A Toledo forklift accident lawyer from Schaffer & Associates can review what happened and explain the available path. Contact Schaffer & Associates to speak directly with a local attorney serving Toledo and the surrounding area.