It’s estimated that there are nearly 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries each year. These types of injuries have the potential to disrupt lives completely. Not only are you dealing with injury recovery, but you’ve also lost your primary means of income.
And that’s not even counting if you suffered an injury that results in a permanent disability. One solution to staying afloat during these tough times is workers’ compensation.
Unfortunately, getting the injury compensation you need isn’t always a straightforward process. That’s why you need hurt-on-the-job lawyers.
But how can these professionals help you? And what injuries are even covered by workers’ comp in the first place? In this guide, we’ll answer these questions so you can get the compensation you need for your recovery.
What Are Some Common Jobsite Injuries?
Depending on where you work, there are various injuries that can put you out of commission. By far, the most common type of workplace injury occurs from slips, trips, and falls.
Whether it’s from wet floors or poorly marked job sites, this injury can result in everything from broken bones to full-on paralysis. Other types of common injuries include:
- Overexertion
- Muscle strains
- Falling objects
- Vehicle accidents
- Repetitive motion injuries, like carpal tunnel syndrome
- Exposure to harmful substances, like chemicals
If you don’t see your injury on this list, don’t panic. As we mentioned, some injuries are unique to the specific industry you work in. These are just some of the most common culprits.
Who Is Eligible for Workers’ Compensation?
There are two main factors for eligibility when it comes to workers’ compensation. First, there’s the injury itself. To be eligible for workers’ comp the injury needs to be directly related to the tasks you were doing at work.
For example, you slipped on a spill at your worksite, or you inhaled hazardous fumes while working. Unfortunately, workers’ compensation doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions but does, under certain circumstances, cover aggravations to pre-existing conditions.
So if you have heart disease and suffer a heart attack at work, workers’ compensation might apply if the heart attack was caused or contributed to by the work activities. Next is your employment status. In order to receive compensation, you must be an employee whose work activities are under the control of the employer at the time of the injury.
It doesn’t matter if you’re hourly, part-time, or seasonal, you just need to be employed by the company. Unfortunately, if you’re an independent contractor or work freelance, you likely won’t qualify. However, you should still get a lawyer to make sure you weren’t misclassified.
Workers’ comp can provide you with four things including wage replacement benefits, medical treatment, vocational rehabilitation, and other benefits.
Why Are Hurt on the Job Lawyers Important?
Unfortunately, insurance companies are a business. And while they might market themselves as your friend, the reality is that they aren’t. It’s quite common for these companies to deny workers’ comp claims outright.
Or, they only cover your medical care while denying you income benefits. Sadly, they often do this with perfectly legitimate cases. Why? Because at the end of the day, they’re a business that wants to make money.
Hurt-on-the-job lawyers are so important because they protect your rights as a worker. They ensure you get the compensation you need by negotiating with the insurance companies to get a fair settlement.
What Can Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Do for You?
Filing a workers’ compensation claim can involve a lot of confusing forms. One of the first things these workplace injury lawyers help out with is making sure you file with the Georgia government on time and accurately.
Often insurance companies try to slow down the process so that it takes months or even years before you see your compensation. Lawyers can greatly speed up the process by aggressively pursuing settlements.
They can also increase your chances of success by putting together multiple forms of evidence. If your employer is threatening retaliation by firing you, they can deal with them.
Most importantly, they negotiate on your behalf with the insurance companies. They aren’t scared by intimidation tactics. These professionals know the best strategies for ensuring that you get the compensation you need.
When Should You Hire a Hurt-on-the-Job Lawyer?
The clearest sign to hire a workers’ compensation lawyer is if your claim was denied in any way. When this happens you’ll need the advice of a legal expert to proceed. You can try to appeal the decision yourself, but this almost always ends in failure.
However, there’s also good reason to hire a hurt-on-the-job lawyer early on in the process. Navigating your workers’ compensation claim is a complicated process. They can make sure you’re navigating it correctly.
What’s more, they can fill out your form and gather evidence in a way that significantly improves your chances of getting your work injury claims. So if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the entire process, don’t hesitate to reach out for some workers’ compensation legal help.
How to Find the Best Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
We’ve gone over some of the reasons why you should hire a hurt-on-the-job lawyer. Unfortunately, it’s important to remember that not all of them are created equally. Some only represent clients that they see as lucrative.
Others lack the needed experience to negotiate with insurance companies. So, when choosing a workers’ compensation lawyer, you need to consider every factor.
This starts with their experience level and reputation. Online reviews are typically a good place to judge this. You should also look at factors like:
- Availability
- Reasonable rates
- How they treat you
- Location
- Client Services
Remember that this legal expert will be representing you in a court of law. As such, you want to make sure that you can trust them.
Ready for the Compensation You Need? Contact Hollington Brown LLP
We hope this guide helped show you the importance of hurt-on-the-job lawyers. Here at Hollington Brown LLP, during our twenty-eight years of operation, we’ve seen nearly every trick in the book when it comes to trying to cheat injured workers out of the compensation they deserve.
Luckily, our extensive experience means we’ve developed a variety of strategies that ensure you have the best odds possible for receiving the money you need.
So if you’re ready for the representation you deserve as an injured worker, get in touch with us today.
