Getting injured at work is not something that anyone wants to deal with, but luckily, worker’s compensation insurance is in place to help you get back on your feet and pay off your bills. For those looking for a Charlotte workers’ comp attorney, Sumwalt and Anderson can help.
What is Workers’ Compensation?
This is a type of insurance that companies are required to hold to help pay the bills of their workers should they become injured on the worksite. This insurance is required to help ensure that both workers and employers alike are protected from the potential issues that may come with a workplace injury. This can cover your medical bills, your time off of work, your pain and suffering, and more.
This insurance is required for those workplaces that have over a certain number of employees and can make a huge difference in how quickly and how efficiently these claims are handled. There is a process that must be followed to help ensure that workers’ comp claims are taken care of and managed in a manner that is easy to follow and easy to document.
The Workers’ Compensation Process
The first step is of course the event and the reports that are filed with the worker and at the workplace. This is going to allow an accurate and well-documented account of events so that you and your lawyers can go back and look at the report later if they are needed for the case. Your employer is going to write up the accident, take photos, if necessary, take account of things like witnesses that may be able to corroborate the story, and help to back up what happened.
The next step is to get your medical attention. This is going to be crucial and does require that you get reports and accounts of the treatment if necessary. In most cases, workers’ comp is going to work to resolve these cases as quickly and easily as possible. You need to keep a record of your treatment and how your case is progressing so that if it does have to go to trial or if a lawyer needs to be brought in, there is plenty of evidence to fall back on. You want to keep accurate records so your attorney can look back and create a succinct account of the events that have occurred.
In many cases, the bills will go directly to the employer or to the worker’s comp insurance company so that they can be settled and taken care of. The insurance company will review the claims, they will pay out or deny the claims, and they will then take a look at paying for time off work and other issues that might come up. Your employer may want to pay you to take time off of work, they may require you to use your sick time, or they may refuse the claim. It is always best that if your claim gets denied, that you take the time to talk with an attorney.
What Can a Lawyer Do?
A lawyer is a much bigger asset than you might imagine. For starters, they can help you to get your story lined out and easily read and taken care of. Your attorney can also help you to talk with the company if needed, help you to appeal your case if it gets denied, and more. An attorney is going to be very helpful in terms of helping to make sure that your claim is heard and that it is reviewed in depth.
A lawyer can also help you appeal the issue if there is any problem with your claim or if you want to seek more compensation or further monetary compensation further down the road. Your attorney is a great go-between as well. they can speak with your employer; they can speak with the insurance company and any other people that you might need to speak with to make sure that you are going to get a fair trial and that your claim has the best chance at being approved. It is always a good idea to have an attorney on hand if you feel that you might have a claim that is not sound, if you fear that it may be argued, or if you think that there is any chance that your case is going to be rejected.
With workers’ comp claims, the most often denial comes when the worksite is evaluated, and it is found that the injury is the fault of something that they did wrong or some safety measure that was not taken when the worker was injured. Most workers’ comp claims are going to be evaluated closely to make sure that there is no sort of fraud and that only those that need the funds are paid out. Your claim can go quickly if you do have a lawyer on your side and you have them help build and argue your case.
It is always a good idea to have a lawyer that can help you to answer any questions that you might have, to help you handle any paperwork that comes up, and to help you get your claim taken care of so that you can stop worrying and can get back to working and back to feeling good again despite your injury and what you have been through.
