Hiring a workers compensation lawyer is always a good idea when you're filing a claim. However, there are certain situations where a professional and experienced workers compensation attorney is particularly invaluable.
The following are six scenarios where you really need to call up a specialized attorney for advice and representation:
Your employer offers a settlement but it doesn't cover your expenses.
If your employer offers a disappointingly low settlement, you're going to need to start negotiating. Having a lawyer on your side to handle negotiations and to persist with your claim is important if you're finding that it's difficult to get what you expect and need of your employer.
You're already receiving social security disability.
If you receive social security disability, it's important to be aware of the fact that social security could be entitled to some of your workers comp benefits if you are approved.
A skilled workers compensation attorney will know how to handle a settlement with an employer to prevent social security from getting its hands on your workers comp money.
Your employer refuses to honor your claim.
If your employer doesn't want to cooperate about your claim, you're going to feel a little helpless. Many employers will reject claims because they know that some employees will fail to follow up with an appeal.
An attorney knows how to handle the situation when your initial claim is rejected by your employer.
You're not only filing a workers compensation claim, but you're also filing a civil suit against a third party.
In some situations, an employee becomes injured because of negligence on both the part of an employer and a third party.
In this situation, you'll be seeking compensation through both workers comp and civil damages that will be negotiated in the civil tort system. This is a complex situation that requires the skill of a specialized lawyer.
Your boss is discriminating against you in some way as a result of your claim.
An employer has a responsibility to provide workers compensation benefits to employees and should not discriminate against you for filing a claim. Discrimination could include reducing pay, taking away benefits, giving you less work hours, or firing you.
You can't do any work or return to your previous job because of the injuries you're suffering.
If you have been permanently disabled by a workplace injury, you're likely to find that workers comp insurance providers will be particularly eager to avoid honoring your claim because these claims can be highly expensive for insurance providers.
You may need the added assistance of a lawyer like Hardee and Hardee LLP to fight the vast resources of an insurance company in the case of a permanent total disability situation.
Share6 February 2017
Were you injured at work and fighting to get the workers compensation that you have paid into each year? Sometimes, getting those payments can be very difficult. What do you do when an employer fights the claim? Do you need a lawyer to help you through the process? How will you pay for a lawyer if you cannot even pay your electric bill? You are probably as lost as I was when I went through the process. Fortunately, you can learn from my experience with the system and find the answers to many of the questions that you have about filing a workers comp claim and fighting the system when it is denied.
