Three Reasons to Consult with a Workers’ Compensation Attorney
If you have been injured at work, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation, but you may also need the assistance of an attorney. The following are three reasons you may want to consider consulting with a lawyer that has expertise in this area of the law.
You are not sure if your injury qualifies
Not every injury will entitle you to workers’ compensation. You may think that the injury you have is obvious enough, but the injury must prevent you from working your job, and not all injuries will prevent you from doing your job. In addition, your injury must have occurred on the job. You may think you are entitled to workers’ compensation because you cannot work, but an injury by itself is not enough. It must have happened on the job, nor can it be an injury that you believe happened after work, but was related to something that previously happened on the job. There are, however, exceptions to this latter situation, but you will need to consult an attorney.
Workers’ compensation or disability?
Your injury may be severe enough that you will need to file for disability and not workers’ compensation. However, these are two different programs for helping workers who are unable to work. In some situations, you may need to file for workers’ compensation first, and then after the injury is determined to be permanent, file for disability. It is an attorney that can look at the specifics of your injury and help you determine the proper course of action.
You have been denied a claim
Having a claim denied is clearly a sign that you should have spoken to an attorney before you filed; however, it is still not too late to consult with an attorney. There are many reasons a workers’ compensation claim is denied. It may be as simple as not documenting your injury sufficiently. Keep in mind that insurance companies do not like paying out money, so they are always looking for ways to deny a claim. An attorney can look at the reason why your claim was denied and the circumstances of your injury, along with the documentation of your injury, and determine if you can fight your insurance claim being rejected.
Whatever your situation may be, you shouldn’t hesitate to speak to an attorney. Lawyer Peter O. Hansen is an example of an attorney working in the field of workers’ compensation issues who can help you.