How Our Lawyers Help Prove Your Injury Is Work-Related
Evidence is a vital part of a worker’s comp claim. There are several pieces of evidence you should gather as soon as an accident occurs. Below are some of the evidence you should gather to help prove your injury or accident was work-related:
• Witness reports.
• Documentation from the doctor.
• Pictures of your injury and the scene.
• Record of you or any of your co-worker’s formal report of the incident to the employer.
• Report of the equipment that was involved in the incident.
It is also essential to have an experienced worker’s compensation lawyer to protect your rights. With this kind of evidence, your employer or compensation insurer may try to undermine your proof to avoid paying the compensation.
Types of Work-Related Injuries
Injuries related to falling, slipping, and tripping make up a substantial percentage of office or workplace injuries – and they can be devastating. Work-related injuries can make a worker end up with broken bones, painful sprains, bruises, fractured ribs, muscle pain, or even cuts.
Apart from the physical part of the injury, you could also end up with depression or any other physiological pain. Financial limitations caused by the expensive medical bill can also make things even harder.
Some work-related injuries might also lead to permanent or temporary disability after sustaining such an injury. Sadly, most of this work-related injury could have been averted. A wet spill leading to slip was not cleaned up, damaged steps not been replaced, uncovered cables or wires, and loose rug not been picked up.
Injuries Caused Due to An Employer’s Negligence
Since receiving medical expenses and worker’s compensation allows your employer to refute any responsibility for your work-related injury, you may decide to fight your employer for a negligence injury lawsuit. Some of the injuries caused due to the negligence of an employer include:
- Negligent training – If another co-worker is the cause of the accident and it was caused due to insufficient training, this falls back on your employer’s because it is the employer obligation to make sure all employee is appropriately trained.
- Negligent hiring – Before an employer hires, a background check is required to check if the co-worker is dangerous, violent, or has any criminal history.
- Negligent supervision – This is when your employer isn’t available to supervise you or your co-worker, and it results in a work-related injury of you or your co-workers
- Negligent retention – Most accidents happen due to an unsafe co-worker. When an employee continues to work unsafely, it is the employer’s responsibility to train the employee correctly.
Steps to Take When Injured at the Office or Work
If you have sustained an injury, your body’s flight or fight instinct is likely to step in, and everything around you may feel hazy. However, taking these steps will give you a better chance of effectively winning a worker’s compensation claim for the injuries sustained.
- Call for help – This is the first step to take when injured. It is not just the first step but also one of the crucial steps in winning your compensation claim and getting your employees or co-workers to assist you on the scene. Your co-workers can also serve as a witness later in the compensation claim process.
- Call 911 for an emergency medical treatment – If the injuries sustained are severe, you need to seek an emergency medical treatment. Leaving serious injuries untreated could get worse and could lead to grave consequences.
- Gather evidence – Gathering evidence should be the next step to take after calling 911 and taking pictures of the injury and the scene or ensure others do if you are unable.
- Report the incident to your employer – Formally reporting the accident/incident to your employer is as important as the first step. Failure to do so might lead to claims that the accident did not take place at the office.
- Follow all medical instructions given – Be sure to attend all appointments and instructions laid out by the doctor. The instructions include limiting physical activity and also taking medications.
- Save all receipts for documentation – Keep all documents relating to the incident, including accident reports and medical receipts. They will all help maximize your settlement compensation.
After all these steps have been taken, you should get in touch with an experienced work injury lawyer to help you claim all the compensation you are entitled to.
Reasons Why You Should Always Call An Injury Lawyer After A Work-Place Accident
As a result of injuries, it might be required of you to change your lifestyle. Also, you might have to deal with the huge medical bill expenses that might threaten to throw your life into dismay. If you are in such situations, below are five reasons you should hire a work-related injury lawyer.
- Lawyers protect your rights – A work-related injury lawyer will be your defender when negotiating with your employer and insurance companies. During these negotiations, the employers might try to eliminate any liability, while the insurance company might try to pay little. Luckily, an experienced lawyer will ensure you get the best deal by representing your best interest.
- Lawyers are experienced and knowledgeable – A lawyer that specializes in work-related injury cases will add immerse experience in handling your case. They will know any changes to recent law and have the resources and to build a solid case. Indeed, you are far less likely to be denied your due compensation as a result of paperwork mistakes or a technicality.
- Lawyers negotiate the best settlement offers – Workers who hire injury lawyers to represent them tend to get higher compensation when compared to those who choose to represent themselves. A lawyer is essential because insurance companies will always = offer lower compensation. Injury lawyers will establish the proper compensation for less measurable things such as physical discomfort, pain, stress, injury impact on your life, general damages, and suffering.
- Peace of mind – Injury can be traumatic because you have to deal with physical and emotional, and mental distress. These might be due to the medical expenses or loss of wage if your employer deems you unproductive. You will be eligible for weekly payments or a lump-sum payment as a comp for loss of wages in such cases.
- Your boss might hit back for demanding injury compensation – Sustaining an injury at work is not your fault but that of your employer for not guaranteeing a healthy and safe working environment for the employees.
However, some employers do not take it easy when you file for an injury compensation claim. They might decide to retaliate by either demoting you, reducing your hours, lowering your salary, or even go as far as firing you.
If you find yourself in such a situation, hiring an injury lawyer will be the best option for you. Here at Philly Injury Lawyer, we have the experience and expertise to ensure you get the best compensation for any injury sustained and harassment.
Types of Work-Related Injury Compensation
When you are eligible to file for a work-related injury lawsuit against your employer or a third party, the best compensation lawyer will demand you get fair and full compensation; this compensation includes.
- Physical/Disability Limitations: If you suffered a work-related accident that caused either a permanent or temporary physical disability, you could demand compensation for the lost capabilities.
- Reduced Quality of Life: Suffering disfigurement or disability can permanently change your future and life as a whole. You might no longer enjoy your hobbies or career, which could also lead to trouble dating or participating with your family and friends. All this might contribute to non-economic damages.
- Medical Expenses: Receiving compensation for your future and past medical care is a possibility. These medical expenses include the cost of traveling, mental health treatment, physical rehabilitation, in-home care, and prescription drugs.
- Scarring and Disfigurement: If an injury related to work caused disfiguring or scarring your outer appearance, you could request for additional compensation.
- Reduced Earning Capacity: Suffering a partial or permanent disability could affect your future earning capacity. Philadelphia workers comp lawyer will demand for the alteration between your post and pre-injury earning capacity.
- Suffering and Pain: You deserve to receive compensation for your future and past physical and emotional suffering and pain.
- Loss of Consortium: This is an injury your parent or spouse suffers due to you getting physically hurt. This kind of damages encompasses the hurt done to the relationship between children, spouses, or even parents.
- Mental Anguish: Not all suffering and discomfort you might experience are physical. The best workers comp attorney will demand compensation for your anxiety, frustration, depression, anger, grief, other physiological and emotional complications.
- Lost Income: It is also possible to demand comp for the wages lost when recovering from your work-related injury. If, after returning to work and your income is reduced due to limited physical capabilities and partial disability, a top worker compensation lawyer will fight for you until you receive your lost wages.
- Out of Pocket Expenses: An injury at work might lead to different ranges of expenses, including additional job or education training. Here at Philly Injury Lawyer, we will fight for you until all pocket expenses have been reimbursed back to you.
When do Employees Injured at Work Qualify for Workers Compensation?
Nearly any injury an employee sustains in a work environment could qualify an employee for workers comp benefits if only you were engaged in any work-related activity at that time of the incident. It is important to report such an accident to your employer immediately it occurs.
Filling the incident earlier is in the best possible interest. Your worker’s compensation approval rate will increase if the incident was reported immediately and might also establish a record of medical action for your injuries.
What are the Duties of a Worker Comp Lawyer?
Their ultimate goal is to represent the injured worker. To help the worker obtain benefits. Below are some of the functions of the best worker compensation lawyer.
- Filing the Lawsuit
- Performing legal research on your case.
- Responsible for drafting motions, briefs, pleadings, legal documents, finding facts and opinions.
- Gathering medical records and evidence.Conduct discovery.
- Litigating cases before a referee or judge.
- Staying current with the latest laws.
- Taking depositions of witnesses, physicians,, claimant, and medical experts.
You should be aware of all your rights in a work-related compensation claim by talking to an experienced worker’s compensation lawyer.
Getting the best law firm can be crucial, especially when you find yourself at a crossroads. You’ll need guidance and some legal advice from someone with proven skills and integrity. Also, you need a trusted and reliable lawyer.
At Philly Injury Lawyer, we understand the pain you get from severe injuries while working. It can also be frustrating sitting on the sideline due to the pain you feel, thus unable to earn an income while the medical bills pile up.
Contact the Best Worker’s Compensation Attorney
Recovering from a work-related injury can be a stressful period in your life, particularly if the employer tries to make the process a difficult one. Added with the cost of medical and the pain of the injuries sustained, the relationship between you and the company may become hostile.
You don’t have to face it alone. At Philly Injury Lawyer, we can help you fight back, and we have intensive knowledge of building a solid case with solid evidence. We have vast experience and have won millions of dollars for our clients.
When you work with us, you are working with a firm with decades of experience. We dedicate our attention and time to your case and use every resource to maximize your compensation claim and obtain the best outcome.