$40,000 Plus Medical Settlement After Workers Compensation Denial for a Waitress On the Job

A 50-year-old waitress slipped on the wet tile floor in a kitchen while on the job in St. Louis County Missouri. The fall caused injuries to her arm, shoulder, and neck which ultimately resulted in surgery. The woman’s injuries required a lot of medical attention, including two surgeries, and she was unable to work for a long time. The waitress initially tried to handle the claim on her own and Workers Compensation repeatedly failed to respond to her in a timely fashion. They ultimately responded with a workers compensation denial of treatment for her neck or shoulder injuries. As time passed, the client required surgery for a torn rotator cuff in her dominant shoulder, plus another and surgery on her neck for a bulging disc. The waitress needed help and didn’t know what to do, so she contacted Carolyn Caruthers at the Sauter Sullivan law firm. Carolyn Caruthers took the case and fought against the Workers Compensation denial, including filing for compensation for medical treatment and her client’s permanent disability caused by the fall’s injury to her elbow, neck, and shoulder. Despite the initial denial and refusal of treatment by Workers’ Compensation, Caruthers prevailed for her client and got Workers Compensation to reimburse for all of the waitress’s medical bills, including costs for the two surgeries and all post operation treatment, her lost wages for time missed initially after the injury as well as after the surgeries, and 10% disability for the elbow, 25% disability for the shoulder and 35% disability for her neck injury. The total settlement gained the client close to $40,000 over and above the payment of her previously denied medical treatment in compensation for her work related injuries.