Did You Suffer an Injury in a Lowe’s Work Accident?
Our Law Firm Helps Injured Lowe’s Employees Negotiate Workers Compensation Settlements
Lowe’s Companies, Inc., known as Lowe’s or Lowe’s Home Centers LLC, is the world’s second-largest home improvement retailer and hardware store (Home Depot is the largest). It has over $65 billion in annual revenue and over 1,700 home improvement stores in the U.S.
These stores provide nearly 200 million square feet of retail space, much of which contains heavy items like appliances and building materials, and millions more square feet of outdoor garden center space.
Operating these big stores requires approximately 300,000 employees, which Lowe’s calls “associates.” This statistic makes Lowe’s the 17th biggest employer in the country.
Unfortunately, Lowe’s size (in terms of space and number of employees) and the nature of its business (interacting with customers while supplying lumber, paint, flooring, building materials, appliances, pipes, ladders, tools, electrical equipment, stone, gravel, mulch, and items for home, garden, and outdoor living) result in many work-related injuries. Indeed, Lowe’s employees often have to lift, carry, push, pull, climb, bend, and reach to do their jobs.
If you are reading this article, you are likely an injured Lowe’s employee (or the family member of a hurt worker) who wants to know what to do after a job-related injury.
You are in the right place.
Keep reading to learn more about Lowe’s workers compensation claims and settlements. In addition, you will see things you can do to speed up when workers comp will offer a lump sum payment to close your claim.
Then call our law firm to start on the road to physical, emotional, and financial recovery after a Lowe’s work accident: 804-251-1620 or 757-810-5614. And see why thousands of injured workers have turned to us to get workers compensation benefits and negotiate lump sum settlements in Virginia and Maryland.
What You Should Know if You Get Hurt as a Lowe’s Employee
The next few sections provide an inside look at what to expect if you get hurt while working at Lowe’s.
When Am I Eligible for Workers Comp Through Lowe’s?
The same workers comp eligibility rules for small businesses apply to Lowe’s and other big retailers.
To recover benefits after a Lowe’s work incident, you must prove the following:
- You were a Lowe’s employee, not an independent contractor, when you got hurt. This test is often easy to prove in Lowe’s cases.
- A specific risk of the employment caused the work injury.
- You were “in the course of the employment,” which generally means you were doing something you were supposed to do as part of your job as a Lowe’s associate.
Once you prove these essential elements, the Workers Compensation Commission (or whatever administrative agency adjudicates occupational injury claims in your state) will analyze the medical records, doctor disability letters, work restriction notes, and job search papers to determine if the injury caused disability and the need for ongoing medical care.
What Workers Comp Benefits Can I Receive for a Lowe’s Accident?
Those of you hurt while working at or for one of Lowe’s stores or fifteen regional distribution centers in North America may qualify for these benefits:
- Wage loss payments based on your pre-injury average weekly wage (temporary total disability and temporary partial disability)
- Lifetime medical benefits for the occupational injury or illness (including hospitalizations, doctor visits, surgeries, physical therapy, chiropractic care, medication, home health care, etc.)
- Compensation for permanent impairment causing loss of use of the injured body part (known as PPD benefits)
- Payment for amputated body parts
- Payment for scarring or disfigurement, such as surgical scarring or burns
- Orthotics and prostheses (including canes, crutches, wheelchairs, braces, etc.)
- Home modifications
- Vocational rehabilitation services if Lowe’s cannot accommodate your light-duty restrictions
What Should I Do After a Work Injury at Lowe’s?
Take these initial steps if you are hurt while working at Lowe’s.
Report the Occupational Injury
All Lowe’s In-Store Service Groups and Product Vendor Directs should have a formal procedure for reporting accidents and injuries. Indeed, specific policies for workers comp, general liability, and property damage claims should be in place.
You will find a sample letter for reporting a work injury here.
Get Medical Treatment
Do not wait for medical care, even if you think the injury is minor.
Seemingly insignificant injuries can turn into big problems weeks or months later.
Unless you seek treatment soon after the Lowe’s work accident, the employer (through its claims administrator) will likely deny your claim. And you will wish you had gone to the doctor, so you have paperwork to prove the accident happened when you say it did.
So, instead of waiting to see if you heal independently, ask your supervisor for a panel (list) of approved physicians for Lowe’s workers comp injuries. Then choose one of them.
And if Lowe’s refuses to offer a list or takes too long to approve treatment, choose a doctor for the work injuries. You and your attorney can then try to turn this doctor into your authorized treating physician.
Collect and Save Evidence – And Tell Lowe’s to Do The Same
We understand you may be unable to take pictures or video of the accident scene because you are too hurt.
But, if possible, do the following (or ask a friend, family member, or coworker) after a Lowe’s work injury:
- Get contact information for witnesses, including customers and coworkers.
- Take photographs of the accident scene.
- Take photographs of your injuries to show cuts, bruises, bleeding, discoloration, etc.
- Send a spoliation letter to Lowe’s telling it to save all evidence of the accident, including surveillance footage and the product that may have caused the incident.
This evidence is a start.
You and your Lowe’s work injury lawyer can build on this foundation to win your claim.
Potential Lowe’s Workplace Accidents and Injuries
Many Lowe’s employees work in one of these positions:
- Cashier
- Fulfillment associate
- In-home consultant
- Installers
- Loader/cart associate
- Merchandising service associate
- Retail sales (the hardware, building materials, electrical/plumbing, lawn and garden departments, etc.)
- Stocker/receiver
- Warehouse worker
Many of these jobs are physical, requiring frequent lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, reaching, bending, stooping, and climbing to handle the more than 35,000 items the average Lowe’s store keeps in stock.
Unfortunately, this activity increases the likelihood of suffering a Lowe’s work accident that changes your life and forces you to switch careers.
For example, you could hurt yourself doing one of these things as part of your Lowe’s employment:
- You suffer a shoulder injury (torn rotator cuff) when your arm strikes a piece of lumber sticking out while you operate a forklift.
- You slip and fall because of water used to keep the flowers in the garden center wet, suffering a knee injury (torn meniscus and torn ACL)
- You hurt your neck when loading or unloading an appliance into a customer’s car.
- You suffer an eye injury causing permanent vision loss when a light fixture falls, and glass enters your eye.
- You fracture your wrist when lawn furniture falls and crushes your hand when installing it.
- You suffer a spinal cord injury and permanent nerve damage when you fall from a ladder while stocking.
- You suffer a skull fracture when a car crashes into you while bringing carts back from the parking lot.
- You suffer an electric shock when plugging in equipment.
No matter the injury, we know how to present a case that scares the insurance representative into offering more money.
What Insurance Company Provides Workers Comp Coverage to Lowe’s?
In Virginia, Lowe’s is self-insured for workers compensation purposes.
However, Lowe’s uses a third-party claims administrator to adjust occupational injury and illness cases – Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc.
What Law Firms Defend Lowe’s in Workers Compensation Claims?
Lowe’s uses multiple law firms to defend workers comp and negligence claims filed nationally.
McCandlish Holton, a law firm headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and Franklin & Prokopik, an insurance defense firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, have defended Lowe’s in recent workers comp claims in Virginia.
We have handled many industrial accident cases involving these two defense firms and are familiar with their attorneys.
Is Lowe’s Open to Settling Work Accident Claims?
Yes.
Workers comp settlements are voluntary. No law forces an employer or insurer to pay a lump sum to compromise and release the claim.
But in our experience, Lowe’s will consider settling work-related injury cases.
What is the Average Lowe’s Workers Compensation Settlement Offer?
The reasonable settlement range for a Lowe’s work injury depends on the nature and extent of your damages, the medical care recommended, the permanent restrictions you receive, and potential defenses (such as the violating a safety rule, res judicata, etc.).
For example, a Lowe’s employee who suffers a back injury resulting in herniated discs and spinal fusion surgery will likely have life-long work restrictions from the fusion, preventing them from going back to the job.
Similarly, a Lowe’s employee who suffers head trauma and concussion when an object falls from the shelves and strikes them may develop post-concussion syndrome and have symptoms preventing them from interacting with customers.
You can demand a higher workers comp settlement amount for these Lowe’s accidents than for occupational injuries resulting in sprains or strains that resolve within a few weeks.
Therefore, we recommend reviewing this workers comp payout and settlement chart to calculate a fair lump sum for your Lowe’s claim.
Will Lowe’s Participate in Settlement Conferences (Mediation)?
We do not know if Lowe’s has an internal policy regarding settlement mediation in workers compensation cases.
However, in our experience, Lowe’s is willing to participate in mediation in at least some cases.
This alternative dispute resolution (ADR) method is an excellent way to keep control over your case’s outcome and know your options before accepting the risks of a workers comp evidentiary hearing before a deputy commissioner.
What Should I Do if Lowe’s Denies My Claim
Defense attorneys representing Lowe’s or the company’s claims administrator may deny your claim or refuse to provide a complete Workers Compensation Award Letter.
Call a claimants’ lawyer for Lowe’s workers comp cases if you receive a notice of denial.
The next step is to conduct pretrial discovery (interrogatories, depositions, requests for production of documents) to develop your case.
Hire a Workers Compensation Attorney with Experience Representing Lowe’s Employees
Founded and headquartered in North Carolina, Lowe’s has a significant presence in Virginia (69 stores) and Maryland (29 stores).
And we prosecute workers comp claims for Lowe’s employees hurt at these locations.
Contact us to schedule an appointment. You have limited time to notify Lowe’s of the work accident and file the claim for benefits under the applicable statute of limitations.
Although Lowe’s is a big company with significant resources (as is Sedgwick, the claims administrator), our attorneys have the skill, experience, and knowledge to build your case and help you get everything owed under workers compensation laws.
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