Why You Should Get a Lawyer for Workers’ Compensation
No matter how much you want to handle your own work injury claim, your employer and their insurance company will stop at nothing to give you the least benefits possible. This is where having your own lawyer working for your own interests will make a difference.
There are lots of reasons hiring a lawyer for your workers’ compensation claim makes sense:
To Protect Your Rights
Handling your work injury claim yourself means dealing directly with the insurance adjuster, and you may not have all the knowledge you need to protect your rights. They may even claim that your case is not legit or will not hold water. Having an attorney will prevent these people from pushing you around.
To Assess Your Case
If you’re not an expert, knowing how much your workers’ comp case is worth will be extremely difficult. Every case is unique, and you can’t just keep referring to other cases that seem similar to yours. In contrast, a lawyer, with all their legal know-how and experience, will be able to give a proper and accurate assessment.
To Make Sure You Receive All Due Benefits
In all workers’ compensation cases, the claimant’s average weekly wage is one of the most crucial factors involved. This average will determine how much compensation you are to receive while you’re away from work. If your employer’s insurance company under-evaluates your average weekly income, you could end up receiving so much less than you should. Having a lawyer ensures this will be avoided.
To Find Third Party Liability, If Any
If another person’s negligence – for instance, a coworker’s or your employer’s – is behind your injury, you may be entitled to file a civil lawsuit on top of your workers’ comp case. There’s no need to pick between the two. But a workers’ comp attorney’s help will come in handy when it comes to determining whether there is a potential third party liability case that you can file.
A lot of people skip hiring a workers’ compensation attorney because they think they would not be able to afford one. Fact is, most of these lawyers are hired on a contingency arrangement, which means you don’t have to pay any up front costs. You just have to sign a contract stating, among others, that you will give them a certain portion of what you eventually receive as compensation, if indeed your case succeeds. Still, this is something you need to discuss with your potential lawyer before you proceed. Some will charge up front for miscellaneous expenses, like doc stamps and photocopying. After all, you shouldn’t be hiring someone if you’re not on the same page.