Nobody wants to be hurt at work.Consider what it would be like to be injured at home, cut off from your usual routine, likely in pain, going to the doctor, and unable to provide for your family.The workers' compensation process can be stressful and frustrating.You can then begin to understand why an injured worker might seek legal counsel by imagining how your employer or claims professional would treat you as if you were faking your injury or trying to cheat them out of money.
Fortunately, this does not always occur in the majority of workers' compensation cases, and plaintiff attorneys are not required to intervene.It is a significant step toward achieving the best possible outcome for all parties involved without engaging an attorney to dispel some of the commonly held misconceptions regarding workers' compensation and to comprehend some of the reasons why an injured worker would seek legal counsel.You will learn from a conversation with a plaintiff attorney that it is essential to comprehend what the employee has given up even before an injury occurs.Tony West, J.D., of Klezmer Maudlin, P.C. explains that "what all employees have lost, before they are injured, is the right to sue their employers for negligence and to get the various benefits that would be available in a personal injury suit for negligence." This is because workers' compensation is a no-fault system.This includes compensation for lost future wages, pain and suffering, and the entire amount of lost wages.Frequently, this can become a source of confusion.
According to plaintiff attorney Stephen Wagner of Wagner Reese & Crossen, there are a few of the most prevalent misconceptions regarding workers' compensation claims.
The Legend:Employers frequently hold the belief that an employee's claim should be denied if they were careless or negligent in causing their own injury.
The Reality is:No-fault workers' compensation is a system.The employee is still entitled to compensation if they are hurt by a coworker or themselves.If you get hurt at work, you don't have to prove who was at fault; even if you were, you can still get compensation.However, your benefits are less than those of other tort cases.That is a trade-off for workers' compensation.
The Legend:For the employer's carelessness or negligence, the employee may file a lawsuit.
The Reality is:Even if the employer is careless or negligent, the employee cannot sue.The employee has no legal recourse against the employer, even in the most egregious instances in factories where known dangerous conditions exist.You can't sue your boss for carelessness in Indiana.The only possible exception is when the employer causes the employee harm with intent.
The Legend:All claimants are deceiving themselves or staging their injuries.
The Reality is:The majority of claims are not at all fraudulent.It is extremely interesting.People are led to believe that there is significantly more fraud than there is because of the media coverage of Workers' Compensation fraud cases."Only 1 to 2 percent of workers' compensation claims are fraudulent," according to a PBS-Frontline Dangerous Business article titled "The Myth of Workers' Compensation Fraud."The majority of injured workers are not seeking reimbursement from their employers.
Thus, one might wonder why or when a plaintiff attorney would be required if the workers' compensation system is a no-fault system.From the employee's perspective, there may be a long list of reasons, and it appears that most of them could be avoided with better information sharing and prompt claim administration.Wagner cites the following as some of the most common justifications for speaking with a plaintiff attorney:
• "If a spouse is concerned about their financial future and the benefits to which they may be entitled after a very serious injury or death.
• If the injured worker believes that they are not receiving the benefits to which they are entitled.
• If disability payments are not being made in a timely manner.That is probably the most common complaint, and it frequently prompts claimants to hire an attorney.
• Even when the claims adjuster has carried out everything correctly, employees sometimes hire an attorney.If the employee suffers a serious injury and is concerned about their financial future, they may just want advice.
