3 Times To Hire A Lawyer For Workers’ Compensation
Brian O Sutter
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation insurance is a universal requirement for employers throughout the United States, but all the laws requiring it got passed at the state level. That means each state has slightly different requirements and benefits, including the state of Florida. Like everywhere else, Florida’s workers’ comp laws are supposed to make things nice and simple for injured workers to cover their medical bills and get back to work, but life and laws aren’t always as simple as we wish they would be.- On Day One
Filing your injury claim as an employee is supposed to be an easy process, since workers’ comp exists for the employee’s benefit. The system it replaced was one where employees had to prove active negligence on the part of the employer, and the whole process almost always favored employers and their deeper pockets.
But there can be a lot of paperwork involved, especially for a severe injury, and even a small amount of paperwork can be intimidating to an immigrant or foreign worker who doesn’t speak English fluently. An experienced workers’ comp lawyer can be worth the commission fee for employees who need help applying for coverage. - When The Employer Relationship Is Bad
We’d all love to work at businesses that respect their employees and treat them with the dignity they deserve. And plenty of people do get the respect they deserve, especially after suffering a workplace injury, but not everyone gets to be so lucky. Some employers treat their employees as nothing more than numbers, or even worse than that, and this can become a problem since workers’ compensation claims assume a certain amount of cooperation between employers, supervisors, and employees. - When The Injury Is Serious
Another major factor in workers’ compensation claims is the insurance carrier that will pay out the claim. Insurance companies need to charge more in premiums than they pay out in claims to make a profit, but they also want to offer low premiums so every employer will choose them. This means they have a powerful reason to pay out as few claims as possible.
Florida law does give employees ways to get around hostile employers, but then employers have ways of their own to (unlawfully) “get even” with employees who want the compensation they’re entitled to. Hiring a lawyer to represent you can be a potent way to make your employer or supervisor think twice before retaliating.
If your workplace injury is relatively minor, like a cut you can stitch up or a broken arm, your claims experience will probably be nice and straightforward. But if your injury is something serious, like a head injury or permanent hand damage, the insurance company will have a reason to try and deny your claim or reduce your benefits. Hiring a lawyer to represent your rights and your claim to fair compensation will give you some leverage of your own, not to mention a tough negotiator who has experience with insurance claim adjusters.
When you have a respectful employer who involves you in the claims process, an insurance adjuster who listens to your needs, and all the medical documents you need lined up and sent where they need to go, you don’t necessarily need a workers’ comp lawyer to represent you even if the workplace injury causes a permanent disability. But all too often employees don’t have all the support they need, or they don’t understand the process well enough to hold up their end without help.
So if you need legal advice and representation to get through your workers’ comp claim, you should hire a lawyer who will be well worth the fee. And if you live in southwest Florida, you should contact All Injuries Law Firm for an expert in Florida workers’ compensation.