Last week, the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the worker’s compensation claim of a stripper who suffered a spinal injury while doing a pole dance in the Shangri-La West club in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The injury occurred on December 20, 2001, and caused her to experience neck pain and numbness. She later underwent surgery for a herniated disc.
She said she reported the injury to her employers, but they have denied all knowledge of the injury. Suffering continuing problems and trying to cover her medical bills, the stripper filed a worker’s compensation claim in 2003, receiving a verdict in her favor for a total amount of $10,000, a relatively modest sum by worker’s compensation standards, but one which was appealed by the employer.
Furthermore, the appeals court ordered an investigation into whether the dancer should receive double compensation because the club did not have worker’s compensation insurance at the time, something described as a temporary oversight by the club’s owner.
This case, although unusual, reminds us that no matter what our line of work, the possibility for injury exists, as well as the possibility that our employer will fight tooth and nail to deny our reasonable claims for compensation. In order to make sure your personal injury does not lead to undue expenses, contact an experienced worker’s compensation lawyer at the law firm of Marc Whitehead & Associates, LLP.
