Certain jobs that come with an expected level of danger, like logging, may offer little in the way of protection against personal injury. If you signed on to work as a logger in a logging camp, and then you are injured, your worker's compensation may only cover you for the time it takes to heal from the injury. Death and dismemberment insurance should cover any losses incurred when you have lost a hand, foot, arm or leg, and sometimes even when you lose an eye or lose your sight. However, there are exceptions to these forms of insurance, as well as exceptions to the rules regarding workers compensation in a logging camp. A lawyer can help you ascertain if you still have any rights to sue after you have incurred a personal injury in a logging camp.

Waivers Signed at the Time of Employment

Some dangerous jobs now require that new employees sign waivers prior to employment. These waivers relieve your new employer of any legal responsibility to take care of you medically and fiscally in the event of a tragic accident. They may also require you to carry your own insurance for the first month or more of your employment. Before you sign anything that looks and sounds like a personal injury liability waiver, have a lawyer examine it. Then decide if you are willing to take the risk to go without any sort of protection or legal backup while working for this employer. If you have already signed such a waiver, it may be very difficult for the lawyer to get you any sort of compensation when you are involved in an accident on the job.

Injuries During Employment Which Are Not Covered

Aside from the waivers, new employees may be restricted from various types of insurance that could protect them in the event of a lost limb or eye. In logging, you could easily lose digits, limbs and eyes within the first few months of your employment, regardless of how careful you are on the job. It is not exactly an illegal practice to not cover new employees under circumstances such as yours, but it may not seem very ethical either. Your lawyer might be able to argue that the company owes you something for pain and suffering even if you cannot sue for lost wages and medical expenses.

Equipment That Your Employer Should Have Kept out of the Work Rotation

One final possibility that may allow you to sue your logging camp boss is the occurrence of injury due to negligence. In this case, your boss knew that a chainsaw, splitter or other piece of equipment was not functioning properly, but encouraged or ordered you to use it anyway. This created a very unsafe work condition that exceeds the expected dangers of the job, and put you and fellow loggers in harm's way. If you can prove this, then you definitely have a lawsuit, in spite of a waiver and/or lack of insurance.

To learn more, contact a personal injury law firm like Gartner Law Firm.