Was Driver’s Injury Unloading Massive Truck a ‘Fish Story’?

What Do You Think?

Is it possible for a worker to obtain benefits for an injury that no one witnessed? Yes. But in Louisiana, the worker will have to clear a couple of hurdles to move forward with his claim. 

In a recent case from that state, a truck driver delivered what he said was a full load of shingles to a warehouse. When he arrived, no one was there. So, he unloaded the entire truck himself, along with the three other full loads he delivered that day. While doing so, he heard a pop and injured his neck, back, and feet. The only problem: no one was there to see it and there was no video of the incident.

The driver’s employer said that if no one was there to unload the truck, the procedure was for the driver to call the company and workers would be assigned to unload it. In the past, the driver had followed that procedure. The employer also stated that for one person to unload a full truck would take six to eight hours.

The driver said when he got back to the office and told his supervisor about his injury, the supervisor just said “okay” and asked if he was going to quit.

The supervisor had a different take, however. He said that the driver returned from the delivery agitated because he was ordered to return to the warehouse to pick up something he’d forgotten. At that point, the driver allegedly said "I'm done" and left, without having reported any injury.

A trial court ruled that the driver failed to demonstrate that he suffered a workplace injury. The driver challenged that decision.

The appeals court explained that a worker in a compensation action must establish a personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment. La. R.S. 23:1031(A).

Did the driver show he was injured at work?

A. Yes. The company was clearly just trying to get out of paying the claim.

B. No. There was something fishy about his claim of making four deliveries a day and unloading all of them.

If you selected B, you agreed with the court in Fish v. Lion Ins. Co., No. 24-CA-477 (La. Ct. App. 02/26/25), which held that the employee failed to show he suffered a workplace injury.

When an accident is unwitnessed, an employee may prove by his testimony that the accident occurred in the course and scope of employment if he can meet two elements: 

1. He has to show there is no evidence that casts serious doubt on his version of the incident; and 
2. His testimony must be corroborated by the circumstances following the alleged accident. Corroboration can come from the testimony of fellow workers, spouses, or friends, or by medical evidence.  

Here, there was no testimony of witnesses who saw the accident. Further, there was evidence that raised serious questions about the driver’s version of events. The appeals court affirmed the trial court’s view that the driver’s description of what happened cast doubt on whether he unloaded the truck and whether he was injured at all. 

For example, the driver stated that he made four trips a day and unloaded the truck every time. If it took eight hours to unload a truck, that would mean he was unloading truck loads 32 hours per day -- clearly (at least for those accidents taking place on the planet earth), an impossibility.

The appeals court affirmed the denial of the claim.

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