Rail Car Failure and a Fight for Modification Solutions in Covington, GA

When an employee of a cereal company in Covington, Georgia, lost both of his legs on the job, Steve Welsh and his team fought to win him the transportation and home modifications he deserved.

It Started With a Rail Car’s Faulty Parking Brake

An employee of a cereal company in Covington, Georgia, was working in the plant’s the rail yard one day, receiving the grains needed for the company’s production lines. During his shift, a rail car with a faulty parking brake began rolling toward him while his back was turned. The car ran over the employee, leading to the loss of both legs—one amputation above the knee and the other below the knee joint.

The Employee Needed Compensation and Modification Solutions

Following the incident, the employee needed a lot for recovery and for life after the injury, including wage replacement income, medical bill coverage, home modifications, transportation modifications, and lifestyle modifications.

He and his wife had recently purchased a two-story home, which now required:

• Ramps
• An elevator
• Lowered furnishings
• Wheelchair accommodations
• Bedroom and bathroom modifications

Plus, he would need modified transportation, including a hand-controlled vehicle and ATV. The employee was also an avid golfer and didn’t want to give his hobby up. He would need adaptive golfing equipment, including a modified golf cart, to continue playing.

While the company’s workers’ compensation insurance did provide wage replacement income and covered his medical expenses, it was not willing to modify his current home, provide modified transportation, or provide golf-adaptive equipment. It only offered to cover the family’s expenses for moving into an already modified, single-story home.

The Employee Really Needed a Quality Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

One day following the incident, the employee’s wife was at her church in Atlanta and found herself in a conversation with a friend of Steve Welsh’s. While sharing her husband’s story, the friend recommended she contact Steve to help fight for the modification solutions her husband really needed.

And so, she did. In their first consultation, Steve listened to the employee’s story and heard all about the things he needed to live as normal of a life as possible as a double amputee. Then, Steve got to work fighting for his client.

Steve Got His Client the Modifications He Deserved

It took years of fierce advocacy on his client’s behalf, but Steve and his team were able to win the modification solutions that the employee and his family needed to live his best life possible after his life-altering accident.

The insurance company ended up covering:

• All expenses required to modify the two-story home the family had purchased
• Modified transportation*
• Expenses for golf-adaptive equipment, including a modified golf cart
• A modified ATV that has allowed him to access areas he could not otherwise access, such as baseball fields where his son played

*The insurance company is required to replace the client’s modified van every seven years.

It’s been several years since Steve successfully fought for his client, but the two have stayed in touch. Every now and then, the client calls Steve to give updates on himself, his wife and children, his golf game, and the life he now gets to live thanks to Steve’s dedication and skill as a workers’ compensation attorney.