An electrician was working on a ladder against the side of a house in this particular workers compensation case while using a battery-powered drill to install equipment. He had laid the drill on a rung of the ladder above his head while he worked with other tools. The next thing he knew, he was waking up on the ground at the foot of the ladder with no memory of how he had fallen. He had an injury to his head and back, and the drill was lying next to him by his head.
The insurance company denied the workers’ compensation claim, alleging that the worker could not prove that the injury was connected to work, suggesting he might have fallen after a seizure or similar medical episode. The Accident Recovery Team’s lawyers successfully argued to both an administrative law judge and the workers’ compensation appeals board that the most likely cause of the accident was the drill sliding off the ladder and striking the electrician on the head. He ultimately had all of his medical bills paid, received money while he recuperated from his injuries and received a settlement for permanent impairment.
