Often the worker's compensation does not seem quite fair to the worker. There are injuries that happen through no fault of the employee and the company for which they company will try to keep from paying workers comp disability to the disabled worker. If an injured worker finds him/herself in a situation like this, it is important to hire a work injury lawyer. But, there are some important factors to consider before hiring a lawyer and the most important factor is cost.What is Workers Compensation?
Worker's compensation is designed to protect people who are injured on the job or suffer a job-related illness. The worker that becomes injured, files for worker's compensation. This is to help cover financial expenses, such as:
* Medical bills or the costs of needed medicines.
* A percentage of wages the person earned before becoming injured.
In some cases the cost of pain and suffering is factored into compensation
The workers compensation system was created to help the company also. With this system, the worker can't sue the employer for the work related injury. He must report the injury in a timely manner and the compensation company will not be able to deny the claim.
Just because you are injured at work doesn't mean that your bills will stop coming. This is the importance of the workers compensation system.
An employer is required by law to find the worker a light duty job in some states when the doctor says they may return to light duty. However, because the light duty position may not pay the same as the worker earned before becoming injured, the worker's compensation may have to be continued to supplement the wages.
Often this does not work for the employee because the employer will not have a suitable job that will allow the worker to come back and collect partial workers compensation benefits. Thus, the employee should actually wait until they make a full recovery and can return to the job they previously had. This will prevent any problems with their employment and the doctor will not release them to go back to work before they are ready.
When Should You File for Worker's Compensation?
If you have visited a doctor for your work related injury and are told that you can't return to work, you need to file your workers comp claim. Any delays can affect the validity. This is why it is important to do it immediately.
If there were witnesses around during the accident, this may help make the claim more legitimate. Don't hesitate to make a note of this in your claim.
Ensuring that you follow all processes and procedures will make your claim process a lot easier, so keep these things in mind.
The attorneys at Franks and Koenig have over 30 years of combined experience in the Work Injury & Workers' Compensation field. Our firm works strictly on a contingency basis, which means we don't get paid unless we obtain a recovery for you.
