Buddy the Elf Fell off the Shelf
A Workers’ Compensation Case Study
Buddy the Elf was a hardworking Elf who would visit children and report back to the North Pole nightly on whether or not his assigned children were behaving. He was also known for playing pranks or hijinks to keep things fun for his children. One night last December, upon his return to his children’s home, he was making an elaborate tower of candy and cheer when he slipped and fell off the shelf. He landed awkwardly below and hurt his knee.
Being a good elf, Buddy tried to walk it off, but the next night when he teleported back to the North Pole, he noticed that his knee was sorer and more swollen. He reported the work injury to his Senior Elf supervisor that night. The Senior Elf told him that he needed to go to their doctor at Grinchy Clinic and they would report it to their Workers’ Compensation carrier- North Pole Insurance (“NPI”).
Buddy was surprised that when he went to Grinchy Clinic he was told that it was just a minor injury. They told him to put a wrap on it and he should be fine to work. They told him to take some Tylenol and would be fine. When he got a call later that day from NPI, Buddy told them that his knee really hurt, and he didn’t feel like he could work. NPI told him that as long as the doctor said he could work, he needed to work, and if he didn’t report to work, he wouldn’t get paid and could get fired.
Buddy had always been a loyal worker for Santa, so he tried to go back to work. He worked for three more days, but knew that something wasn’t right. He could barely walk. He tried to talk to Santa, but the Senior Elf wouldn’t let Santa be bothered during busy season.
Buddy didn’t know what to do, but then one of his co-workers told him about her work injury and how she had hired Adeszko Abate & Green to help her on her case. Buddy called the workers compensation attorneys at Adeszko Abate & Green and they were happy to help. They told Buddy that he had the right to go to a doctor of his choosing, and didn’t have to go to Grinchy Clinic. Buddy found a new doctor who ran tests and determined that he had actually torn ligaments in his knee and needed surgery. The new doctor said that Buddy wasn’t able to work as an in-home elf until he had surgery, but could still work while sitting. Buddy was reassigned to the workshop where he was able to help build toys while seated and not putting stress on his knee. Although this position paid a little less than being an in-home elf, Adeszko Abate & Green was able to help him obtain benefits to make up the difference.
Shortly thereafter, Buddy was able to get his knee surgery and when he was completely off work, Adeszko Abate & Green was able to get him temporary total disability benefits to compensate him for being off work. Eventually after some hard work, surgery and physical therapy, Buddy was able to make a great recovery, but his knee will never be quite the same. He was able to return to his summer job as a garden gnome in Saskatchewan. Despite the excellent recovery, Adeszko Abate & Green’s attorneys were still able to secure a final settlement for Buddy. Buddy is now back to work on that shelf, happy, healthy, and bringing cheer to kids everywhere!
If you, your friends or family, or their elves have been injured at work, please contact Adeszko Abate & Green and we will be happy to help!