Why You Should Always Hire A Workers’ Comp Attorney
4,836 workers died as a result of work-related injuries in 2015. In 2016, 892,270 employees were injured on the job in the private sector.
However, the actual number of injuries may be around 7.4 to 11.1 million in all sectors. Most injuries go unreported.
Even if you don’t work in an occupation like construction, there’s still a chance you could become ill or injured in the workplace. If that happened, would you know what to do?
That’s why a workers comp attorney should always be consulted if an injury or illness occurs at work. Keep reading to learn more.
Your Employer Will Have Their Lawyers Working for Them
Your employer definitely has lawyers on their side. They have their own interests to protect.
Your insurance company will also be using their attorneys to ensure they don’t have to pay one nickel more than they have to.
That’s why you need a workers comp attorney to protect your rights. Those other lawyers won’t be helping to ensure your needs are met.
They don’t care if your rights are protected. In fact, if the other team of lawyers realizes that you haven’t gotten a lawyer, they’ll do everything they can to ensure you walk away with nothing.
So hire a workers comp attorney to ensure you get what you deserve. Even if you have a great relationship with your employer, hiring an attorney is a smart decision.
This isn’t about bankrupting your employer, it’s about making sure your health and welfare are taken care of. That’s why there’s workers comp in the first place.
An Attorney Can Help Ensure You Don’t Lose Your Job
Sometimes people are afraid to file a claim or report an injury because they fear getting fired. They might feel their employer will retaliate against them.
Firing someone or retaliating against them for filing a claim or a report is against the law. Yet, in most cases, if you didn’t hire a workers comp attorney, you wouldn’t know this.
Even if you did, most people don’t know what the next steps are to ensure their rights are fully protected. A workers comp attorney knows exactly what to do to make sure your job is there for you when you’re ready to return to work.
They’ll make sure your employer complies fully with the law. There will be no retaliation and you won’t have to fear that you’ll lose your job.
Peace of mind is one main reason to hire a workers comp attorney. Knowing your rights are protected at all times is another.
A Workers Comp Attorney Makes Sure Your Medical Bills are Paid
If you’re lucky, an injury or illness that occurs at work is minor and you’ll be back at work in a day or two. For many people, they’re out of work for much longer.
Those who are injured longer may need to be on short-term disability. Coverage should start anywhere from 1 to 14 days after the injury or illness occurs.
Most short-term disabilities end anywhere between 9 and 52 weeks. Often, workers are forced to use their sick days before their short-term disability kicks in.
Then there’s long-term disability. The average length of a long-term disability lasts 34.6 months. That’s over three years of lost wages.
What’s most frightening is the fact that the Council for Disability Awareness notes that one out of every four 20-year-olds will be disabled at some point in their career.
Which means the injury is serious enough to warrant medical attention. If you don’t have a workers comp attorney on your side, you might end up responsible for paying those medical bills yourself.
Maybe your insurance company decides not to cover all your needs. Perhaps your employer tries to cut off your medical insurance part way through.
A workers comp attorney will work hard to make sure your insurance company covers all the care you need. They’ll also make sure your insurance is covered for the duration of your disability.
You’ll Be Guaranteed to Receive Your Workers Comp Wages
Since both short-term and long-term disability means you’re unable to work for a certain period of time, that can often result in a loss of wages.
If you have a family counting on you, that could spell trouble. You could lose your home. You could struggle to put food on the table.
If your family is covered by your medical insurance policy, they could also lose coverage. A serious illness or injury caused by a work-related incident is already stressful enough.
You don’t want to have to worry if you can still pay your bills. That’s why you should hire a workers comp attorney.
They’ll make sure you keep money coming in while you’re recuperating. They’ll make sure that you and your family can keep a roof over your head.
Your attorney will make sure you get social security and Medicaid benefits to keep you healthy, even if you can’t ever return to work again.
In some cases, a work-related injury can result in death. When that happens, if you’re the major financial contributor to the family, this can be permanently life-altering.
Hiring a workers comp attorney ensures that your family will be taken care of. An attorney can fight to make sure that your family receives payment for the loss of wages you would have earned had you not suffered a fatal injury.
That means they won’t have to suffer or worry any more than they already are.
A Lawyer Understands the Current Workers Comp Laws
Workers comp is a complicated matter. The laws are complex. Workers comp laws also are subject to change.
Sometimes you can be rejected from receiving what you’re owed just because you made a minor mistake when filling out a form.
A workers comp attorney knows which forms you need to fill out. They’ll also know how to fill them out properly so you get what you’re entitled to in a timely manner.
A workers comp attorney will also understand the laws that pertain to the state you’re in. Most people don’t know how to navigate the system but a lawyer will.
A good lawyer will also know how much compensation is actually fair. If you try to do this on your own, you may ask for too little.
You might ask for too much and be denied any money at all. You deserve to get a fair settlement no matter what happened.
Even if your claim is small, you have a right to receive a settlement. You have a right to receive proper medical care and have those bills be paid for.
You also have the right to receive payment for lost wages, even if those lost wages were only for a few weeks.
Without a workers comp attorney on your side, your chances of getting a fair settlement, no matter how minor or major the injury are slim.
Your Family Will Be Protected and Taken Care of
The International Labour Organization reported that 2.3 million workers died last year. In 2015, 167,000 people died as a result of armed conflict.
That’s a huge difference. In most cases, these workers were not intentionally putting themselves in harm’s way. They were not working with guns or bombs, either.
Many of these deaths were completely preventable.
But many of those who were the unfortunate casualties of these work-related tragedies probably didn’t hire a workers comp attorney.
So their families most likely suffered a greater loss than necessary. Not only was their loved one gone, they lost out on potential wages.
There might have been high medical bills if the worker was hospitalized for a time before they passed away. Bills the family has little or no way of paying back.
Which is why hiring a workers comp attorney is so necessary. They’ll ensure that in the event of your death, your family is taken care of.
Your family is entitled to the lost wages you would have earned. They’re also entitled to not be solely responsible for paying all of your medical fees while you were being cared for in the hospital.
Grief is difficult enough to handle. Most people find it difficult to think clearly at that time.
Mistakes can be made. Mistakes that can cost your family much more than losing you forever.
Hiring a workers comp attorney means your family doesn’t have to go through this completely alone. An attorney will know exactly what the next steps are.
They’ll guide your family through the process and ensure that all the paperwork has been filled out correctly. They’ll make sure your family receives your benefits and lost wages.
Hire the Right Attorney
Don’t pick up the phone and hire the first attorney you find. Your first goal is to find an attorney who specializes in workers comp cases.
Check out their website. Make sure you like what you see. Their website should be professional looking.
See if they have testimonials on their site. Go ahead and read them to see what others are saying about the worker’s comp lawyer.
Before making any decision, go ahead and contact the attorney. Ask them questions about how they can help you. Ask them how long they’ve been representing their clients.
The right attorney will be happy to answer any and all of your questions. They’ll help you understand the process.
Larry N. Hollington has been voted one of the top 10 workers comp lawyers in Georgia. Contact us to help you with your case today.
