When you've been injured on the job, you may not like the idea of hiring a worker's compensation lawyer and actually having to sue your employer or their insurance company. However, this might be necessary if your employer didn't have worker's compensation insurance or the policy wasn't adequate enough to cover your medical costs, or if the insurance company is fighting their obligation to pay you. Whatever your reason for needing a compensation lawyer, note a few questions you might have about using their services, then be sure to ask them about these questions if you need more information.
1. What if there is no visible injury?
Not all injuries you suffer might be readily visible; a broken bone or chipped tooth you've suffered from a fall is an obvious injury that may require compensation for medical bills, but injuries like damage to your lungs from breathing in dust, hearing loss from working in very loud environments, and similar injuries can still be matters for a compensation lawyer to consider. Don't assume that your injuries are not truly injuries if you don't need to wear a cast or get immediate surgery, but discuss any physical problems or pain you've suffered from the job with an attorney instead.
2. What if the injury happened some time ago?
You may suffer consequences from an accident long after it occurred; for example, you might have pain in the neck and back from a fall some weeks after, but didn't realize your backaches, headaches, and other problems were because of the fall. This is also true of damage that occurs over a long period of time; you may not realize the ringing in your ears is because of working in a noisy environment and is a sign of hearing loss. Rather than assume that it's simply too late to file a claim of any sort, speak to an attorney about the details of your case and let him or her advise you on your rights.
3. What if someone isn't comfortable suing their boss?
You might not want to sue your boss, but remember that you may actually file a claim against his or her insurance company and not your boss in particular. You may also have protections against reprisal if you're afraid of being fired. Your attorney can advise you on the best way to handle your claim if you don't want to sue, such as negotiations for a settlement or short-term payments for medical expenses.
Share9 May 2016
In my job as a student advisor I hear a lot of complaints about the unfair conditions that some bosses impose on their employees. I'm not a lawyer, but I am very familiar with which conditions are actually illegal and which are just things that some employees don't like being asked to do — like clean the toilets. This blog has some resources to help employees know if what their boss is asking them to do is illegal or just annoying. Knowing even just a little bit about the law can go a long way in making sure you're being treated properly.
