The Inner Workings of a Law Firm

3 Reasons To Hire A Lawyer For A Workers Compensation Case

16 September 2015 by Jo Rodriquez

Workers compensation is designed to protect the employee from loss of income should they be injured on the job. As such, filing a claim is often imperative when a workplace injury occurs. Yet, when filing a claim its hard to determine if you need a lawyer or not. Indeed, while minor injuries or injuries that your employer recognize as happening on the job might not need a lawyer, there are always some circumstances in which hiring one is in your best interest.

Your Employer Is Dodging Your Claim

Workers compensation settlements are often expensive affairs for businesses, which tends to lead them to trying to avoid paying out whenever possible. Usually, this is on the hopes that the injured employee will fail to appeal the claim in court. If you're like a great deal of Americans, you might lose hope when this happens since you might think you can't afford a lawyer. Yet, one thing to know about workers compensation lawyers is that their services are generally free up front until the settlement is made. This means they will fight hard for your case for both you and them to get paid. So, if your employer is hassling you by trying to bury your claim, you can almost always get some sort of settlement by lawyering up. 

Punitive Action Is Taken Against You When You File A Claim

As a worker, it is your right to file a claim in the event of an injury. So, under absolutely no circumstances should your employer ever take any sort of punishing measure for you doing as such. If your employer engages in any sort of discriminatory behavior such as demoting, firing, cutting your hours, or otherwise harassing you while you're on the job, you are are perfectly within your rights to take legal action against them. By hiring a lawyer, this means in some circumstances you can get a larger settlement than normal due to unfair actions being taken against you. 

You Can't Return To Work As A Result Of Your Injuries

Unfortunately some accidents can make it to where you can't work on a long-term or even permanent basis. When this occurs during your claim you can be entitled to long-term weekly payments which can help you sustain a healthy lifestyle. As you can imagine, this can be quite expensive for insurance companies, which means these types of claims are the most likely to go to court. So, if that is the case, hire a competent lawyer to ensure the best chances of your claim being successful.

So, if you experience any of the above problems when filing a workers compensation claim, just remember, there are dozens of lawyers at the ready to defend you today (such as those from Hornthal Riley Ellis & Maland LLP). 

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