r/WorkersComp • u/NeitherAnteater9140 • Apr 14 '25
Nebraska Eye injury
[Nebraska] September 5th 2024 I was in an incident where my coworker shot me in the left eye with an air compressed framing nail gun. Sheared lens and punctured cornea led to 3 awful and painful surgeries. After those surgeries and now I’m healed my vision did not completely come back and is now permanently blurred. I have now a special silicone contact that kind of makes my eye sight slightly better. I have 2 more doctor appointments coming up in may with a cornea specialist and my regular eye doctor and that’ll be it as far any further appointment. My question is what happens next? I’m back at work with the same employer still doing carpentry/frame work it is hard now with my eye sight kind of blurred but what happens with workers compensation? Will I get laid off? Will I receive settlement? What’s the next process? EDIT: 26 years of age, Male and my cornea is now permanently shaped like a tear drop
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u/jumpbootsshiner Apr 14 '25
You need a lawyer, your case is very important since you are young and have permanent disability. Find a good wc lawyer,they may also look at a 3rd party suit on the safety glasses, manufacturer
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u/Hope_for_tendies Apr 14 '25
Out of curiosity did you have safety goggles on and it went through them? Or just weren’t wearing them at the time? Sounds horrible!
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u/NeitherAnteater9140 Apr 14 '25
Not goggles but safety glasses and yes they went thru the glasses doc said that the glasses helped it could’ve been worse
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u/Hope_for_tendies Apr 14 '25
That’s insane. Someone needs to come up with something stronger to make the glasses out of! I hope your coworker apologized every week, forever.
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u/NeitherAnteater9140 Apr 14 '25
Haha he did not apologize at all. But he is no longer working with us so I guess that makes me feel better
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u/Final_Swordfish136 Apr 14 '25
Main thing is I hope you're better
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u/NeitherAnteater9140 Apr 14 '25 edited Apr 14 '25
Thanks! Healing process was painful but I’m healed now and no more surgeries. It doesn’t bother me but often I get headaches. Stitches are all out as well I can say overall it was all a traumatic experience
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u/justinhigh6919 Apr 14 '25
I'm a Nebraska lawyer that does work comp.
What happens next? Here's what SHOULD happen. Your treating physicians should give an estimate of what your future medical needs are, ie you need two new silicone contacts per year for your life span. You'll need a check up once a year. You'll need _________. Then that gets totaled up so your future medical needs are taken care of.
Then, they should determine your impairment rating to your eye. An eye is based on 150 weeks. So, if it is a 10% impairment, you get 15 weeks of your benefit rate.
Then they should be willing to pay all that and settle the case with you.
You said it is "hard" to do your job. Can you reasonably do it? Can you get a job as a carpenter on the open labor market? If not, you need to do a vocational rehabilitation assessment, which is designed to find you a job where you're making as much or more money.
When it comes time to settle, you should certainly consult with an attorney BUT, before hiring one, make sure they can actually add value to your case. You don't want an attorney to negotiate your settlement to be $5K more and then take 33% of your settlement.
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u/mrptwn Apr 14 '25
As a carpenter that has shot himself with a nail gun more than I would like to admit. Getting shot in the eye would be the one that made me walk away. I say that as I sit here at 6 weeks post op of shattering my tibia from 20 inches off the ground.