Why would you need a work injury attorney? You’ve done everything right. You’ve been working hard, keeping your station clean and safe, and staying out of danger. But then something comes along to knock you back. You’re injured on the job. It’s a serious injury that means you need to take time off work and have expensive medical bills as a result. What do you do? If you’re in this situation right now, it might feel like the world is against you at first. Your employer will be eager to help but probably won’t go above and beyond because they aren’t legally obligated to offer more than their standard insurance package. Even if they are nice about it, it still feels like they’re putting roadblocks in your way at every opportunity because that’s what an injured employee can expect from most companies these days. Read on to learn 9 excellent reasons why you should hire a work injury attorney as soon as you get injured at work.
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9 Excellent Reasons to Hire a Work Injury Attorney
You can’t rely only on your employer to provide benefits.
If you get injured at work, your employer’s workers’ comp insurance company will make a determination about the severity of that injury and the amount of money they’ll need to pay you as a result. Unfortunately, their definition of the level of your injury and the amount they’ll need to pay you might not match up with the definition you have in your head. Being rational and fair doesn’t seem to be a priority for these companies. You can’t rely on your employer to fight for you in this situation, either. Your employer might be sympathetic toward you and want to help but they have to stay on the right side of the law. They might be able to get you a small payment to cover your medical bills or lost wages but if you get offered workers’ compensation, you’ll have to take it because you have to be reasonable about it.
You need an attorney to make sure you get everything you’re entitled to.
Yes, you heard me. You need a work injury attorney to fight for you and ensure that you get everything you’re entitled to as soon as possible. Otherwise, you risk waiting for months for an insurance company to make a decision about your claim and then, having them underestimate the value of your claim which will mean you get a pittance in return. Your employer will work to help you out. They might have a work injury attorney on staff or they might handle the entire process on their own. But either way, they can’t exactly go above and beyond to fight for you because they’re not legally obligated to.
Your injuries are likely to be serious and will require a lot of care.
Workers’ comp only pays out when an injury is related to your job, so if you’re injured on the job and get workers’ comp benefits, they’ll only be paying out on a portion of your expenses. If you have health insurance, they’ll pay out on a portion of your medical bills too, but you might have to pay out of pocket for the rest. If you need surgery or a lot of ongoing care, your health insurance might not cover everything. You could be left with thousands of dollars in bills for surgery or physical therapy that you won’t be able to pay for out of pocket. This could affect the rest of your life, financially.
It’s hard to predict how long you’ll be off work – it could be months.
If you’re off work due to your injury, your employer is probably paying you their standard rate, which is just above minimum wage in most states. But if you’re collecting workers’ comp, you’ll be getting a much, much higher rate. This means that your employer will be losing money if you only take the workers’ comp rate for the duration of your injury. They might be tempted to put you on light duty rather than keep you at your full wage rate or let you go if you’re really injured.
The same goes for how much your medical treatment will cost – it could be a lot.
The nature of the injury you got is likely related to the work you were doing when it happened. This means you’ll get workers’ compensation benefits that will cover a good portion of your medical expenses but not all of them. If your injury is serious and you’re having to spend a lot on treatment, you’ll quickly run out of money. If you’re still employed, you might be able to get some money out of workers’ comp to cover your treatment but you’ll have to wait until your claim is approved. If you’re self-employed, you might have to take out a loan or put everything on a credit card. This could have a huge impact on your life, financially, and could make it difficult to get back on your feet.
Hiring a work injury attorney means that you’ll have someone on your side who knows what they’re doing.
There are a lot of factors that go into calculating how much workers’ comp you’ll get. Your employer will work hard to help you out but ultimately, their judgment about your injury and how much it will cost will be based on what information they have on hand. On the other side, your attorney has the benefit of being able to see everything the insurance company has on you. This means your work injury attorney will know exactly how to value your claim and maximize the amount you get out of it.
A good work injury attorney will know the ins and outs of workers’ comp laws in your state, so they can help you get the most out of it.
No two states have the same workers’ comp laws on the books. These laws are set at the state level, so they vary widely from state to state. Your attorney will know the ins and outs of your particular state’s laws, so they can use that to your advantage to get you the most out of your workers’ comp claim. This could mean the difference between you having to wait months before you get any money and getting a lump sum payment within a few weeks or even a few days of filing your claim.
A work injury attorney can negotiate with your employer for a lump sum payment up front.
Your attorney will be able to negotiate with your employer for a lump sum payment up front that covers your medical bills, lost wages, and any other expenses you have related to your injury that you can’t cover yourself. Depending on your state’s laws, employers will have to negotiate with you or your attorney before they offer you a lump sum payment. Some states have laws that say employers have to negotiate with you. Whichever the situation is, you’ll have a much better chance of getting a fair amount if you have an attorney on your side.
A work injury attorney can walk you through your different options based on the value of your claim and help you decide which is best for you.
Your employer will probably offer you a lump sum payment based on their assessment of what your injury is worth. If you take this lump sum payment up front and you think it’s too low, you’ll have to wait until you’re healed up, back at work, and they’ve done a final assessment of your claim to ask for more. Your work injury attorney will be able to walk you through your different options based on the value of your claim, so you can make an informed decision about how to move forward. If no option seems great, your work injury attorney can help you pursue a settlement that’s as close to ideal as possible.
Bottom line
Getting injured at work is scary and inconvenient. You need help and you need it quickly. If you hire a work injury attorney as soon as you get hurt, they can help you navigate the legal process and get the money you need to get by while you’re injured. Don’t risk having to pay for an injury that was at no fault of your own because you didn’t hire a work injury attorney who knows what they’re doing from day 1.
Need a Work Injury Attorney? Marlowe Law Can Help
If you have any further questions about hiring a work injury attorney, please reach out to us today. We look forward to doing everything we can to help you get the compensation and service you deserve.