You've been injured at work and your family and friends keep talking to you about workman's comp and claiming your benefits. Some say to get an attorney, one that specializes in personal injury and workman's comp cases. What exactly is workers compensation? What sort of benefits are available to you? Do you need to hire an attorney?
To begin with, workman's compensation is a type of insurance that all employers carry for their employees. This insurance will cover their expenses and some of the employee's lost wages in the event of an on-the-job injury, or job related illness. |
| Injured on the Job? You Need to Hire a Workers Compensation Attorney |
An on-the-job injury or illness that takes place at work or occurs due to employment is considered a workman's compensation injury. Workman's compensation law governs that you are entitled to assistance if you are injured on-the-job, even if the fault is your own. Examples of work related injuries and illnesses include: burns, cuts, back strains and sprains, shoulder pain, neck pain, headaches, broken bones, knee problems, heart attacks, hypertension, wrist injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome, along with any number of illnesses related to environmental conditions. Chemicals used in the workplace, asbestos poisoning, lead exposure, and others can all create work related illnesses.
Anytime you are injured on-the-job, you should always immediately report the injury to your supervisor. You will be required to fill out a form (one that your employer should give you) documenting how the injury took place. Be as thorough as possible, weeks, months and years later, details are hard to recall. Describe the environment, was the floor slippery? Was a box too heavy for you to lift? Did something fall on top of you? It is up to your employer to arrange care and treatment for you.
One of the benefits associated with workman's compensation is the medical care that you will be given. This will be at no cost to you. If your employer does not send you to a specific doctor, you may choose your own doctor.
You may choose to hire an attorney. If you have an injury that is taking a long time to heal, and requires a great deal of therapy, you might miss a long periods of work. How will you recuperate lost wages? Workman's compensation insurance only covers a portion of your wages while you are out of work. Also, what if your doctor says you are fit to return to work while you're still in pain and unable to perform the tasks required of your job? Will you know how to demand a reevaluation?
An attorney that specializes in workman's comp claims understands how to take the worry away from the injured person's mind. The attorney knows the laws, can negotiate with insurance companies and insist upon a second opinion if needed. Naturally, you might be concerned about hiring an attorney when you've already lost so much money from time off of work. Rest assured that most attorneys give a free consultation, and will not charge fees until after the case is won. This is called handling your case on a contingency basis. Often, the fees are not exorbitant either, perhaps 10% - 25% of the award, depending on your state's law.
The benefit of having an attorney when you've been injured at work ensures that you aren't alone in the whole process. As you're going through medical treatments and losing time from work; you'll have an attorney on your side documenting everything that is happening to you. (You should also keep your own records.) Someone who understands the way the judicial system works is by your side, and they'll fight for you to make sure that whatever you deserve is awarded to you. Sometimes your employer is at fault for what happened and they are the ones who need to pay. Perhaps they did not make you aware of preventative measures that should have been taken into account prior to working in certain circumstances.
I had a friend in Charlotte NC whose son, Mike started a new job in a warehouse. He was a very healthy young man and had played sports in high school. The job was his first after he'd graduated and he wanted to make a good impression by always jumping to volunteer for whatever tasks the supervisor needed done. One day, a few of the other workers had called in sick and Mike was working overtime. He was tired, hungry and began to feel weak and get a headache after working on a noisy loading zone for too many hours without a break. He was doing another man's usual job, which he had never done before, which was unloading boxes from a pallet to shelves in the warehouse's inventory. The only safety equipment he wore was a pair of ear plugs to block out the loud noise of truck's back up alarms and other loud equipment. He picked up a large box to place it on a shelf, when a nail protruding from the box cut deeply into his hand. In his surprise, he lost his grip and began to drop the box. Instead of letting the box fall, he strained his back trying to hold on to it. When he felt a muscle pop in his back, he dropped the box, it landed on his sneakered foot, crushing metatarsal bones. Three distinct areas the employer should have protected Mike were: safety gloves, a back brace for lifting and they should have advised him to purchase steel toed boots for this job.
Anytime you are injured on-the-job, you should always immediately report the injury to your supervisor. You will be required to fill out a form (one that your employer should give you) documenting how the injury took place. Be as thorough as possible, weeks, months and years later, details are hard to recall. Describe the environment, was the floor slippery? Was a box too heavy for you to lift? Did something fall on top of you? It is up to your employer to arrange care and treatment for you.
One of the benefits associated with workman's compensation is the medical care that you will be given. This will be at no cost to you. If your employer does not send you to a specific doctor, you may choose your own doctor.
You may choose to hire an attorney. If you have an injury that is taking a long time to heal, and requires a great deal of therapy, you might miss a long periods of work. How will you recuperate lost wages? Workman's compensation insurance only covers a portion of your wages while you are out of work. Also, what if your doctor says you are fit to return to work while you're still in pain and unable to perform the tasks required of your job? Will you know how to demand a reevaluation?
An attorney that specializes in workman's comp claims understands how to take the worry away from the injured person's mind. The attorney knows the laws, can negotiate with insurance companies and insist upon a second opinion if needed. Naturally, you might be concerned about hiring an attorney when you've already lost so much money from time off of work. Rest assured that most attorneys give a free consultation, and will not charge fees until after the case is won. This is called handling your case on a contingency basis. Often, the fees are not exorbitant either, perhaps 10% - 25% of the award, depending on your state's law.
The benefit of having an attorney when you've been injured at work ensures that you aren't alone in the whole process. As you're going through medical treatments and losing time from work; you'll have an attorney on your side documenting everything that is happening to you. (You should also keep your own records.) Someone who understands the way the judicial system works is by your side, and they'll fight for you to make sure that whatever you deserve is awarded to you. Sometimes your employer is at fault for what happened and they are the ones who need to pay. Perhaps they did not make you aware of preventative measures that should have been taken into account prior to working in certain circumstances.
I had a friend in Charlotte NC whose son, Mike started a new job in a warehouse. He was a very healthy young man and had played sports in high school. The job was his first after he'd graduated and he wanted to make a good impression by always jumping to volunteer for whatever tasks the supervisor needed done. One day, a few of the other workers had called in sick and Mike was working overtime. He was tired, hungry and began to feel weak and get a headache after working on a noisy loading zone for too many hours without a break. He was doing another man's usual job, which he had never done before, which was unloading boxes from a pallet to shelves in the warehouse's inventory. The only safety equipment he wore was a pair of ear plugs to block out the loud noise of truck's back up alarms and other loud equipment. He picked up a large box to place it on a shelf, when a nail protruding from the box cut deeply into his hand. In his surprise, he lost his grip and began to drop the box. Instead of letting the box fall, he strained his back trying to hold on to it. When he felt a muscle pop in his back, he dropped the box, it landed on his sneakered foot, crushing metatarsal bones. Three distinct areas the employer should have protected Mike were: safety gloves, a back brace for lifting and they should have advised him to purchase steel toed boots for this job.
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| Injured on the Job? You Need to Hire a Workers Compensation Attorney |
An attorney would know that the employer is at fault for not protecting and looking out for Mike's best interest. Fortunately, when Mike consulted with a workman's comp attorney, this was an aspect of the case that was brought forth and an agreement was reached between Mike and the employer. Without the help of an attorney, this additional settlement money might not have been obtained. Mike and his family were initially only concentrating on the workman's comp insurance company and their refusal to allow Mike to receive an evaluation through another doctor. The only doctor Mike had been evaluated through was the one the employer had referred him to. Even though Mike was still in excruciating pain in his back and was walking with a cane, the doctor had released him to light duty without even knowing what type of work he did! Mike's attorney was able to call for a new doctor's evaluation to be admitted into the case and the type of work that Mike did to be brought into account as well.
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