7 SIGNS YOU NEED LEGAL HELP AFTER A WORKPLACE INJURY

Dec 6, 2019 | Workplace Injury | 0 comments

If you’ve been injured on the job, you are likely covered by workers’ compensation coverage, but rather than applying on your own, you may want to get professional help. Here are seven signs you should secure legal help after a workplace injury.

1. You Want To Improve Your Odds Of Approval

Applying for workers’ compensation should be straightforward, but unfortunately, in many cases, the process can get complicated. If you want to ensure that your application gets approved, you may want to work with a legal expert who can help you fill out the forms accurately and advise you on what sort of supporting documentation (e.g. medical records) you need.

2. You Want To Apply For Additional Benefits

Through the workers’ compensation program, you can qualify for up to two-thirds of your income for up to 400 weeks. Unfortunately, however, the program caps weekly payments at $575. If you can’t live on that amount, you may want to apply for additional benefits through the Social Security Administration or Georgia’s catastrophic disability program.

3. Your Boss Has Deliberately Hurt You

With workers’ compensation, you waive the right to bring a personal injury lawsuit against your employer. However, there is one key exception to this rule — if your boss has deliberately hurt you, you can bring a suit against him or her.

Note that this exception does not include negligence. It only covers a deliberate attempt to cause you injury. In this case, you certainly need legal help because you may have both a criminal and a civil suit against your employer.  

4. A Third Party Caused Your Injuries

Although you cannot bring a personal injury suit against your boss in most cases, you may be able to bring a suit against another party. In particular, if your injury was caused by malfunctioning equipment, you may be able to bring a product injury lawsuit against the manufacturer of that product.

Similarly, if you were bitten by a dog or hurt on another person’s property while working, you may be entitled to bring a personal injury case against the dog or property owner.

5. Your Boss Does Not Have Workers’ Compensation

Similarly, if your employer simply does not carry workers’ compensation, you may also bring a lawsuit forward. Failure to carry workers’ compensation is a misdemeanor.

6. You Need Help With Your Creditors

Whether you’re waiting for your workers’ compensation claim to be approved or thinking about a personal injury lawsuit, you may be dealing with a lot of medical bills. In the absence of regular income, you may have even fallen behind on your other bills. That may include your mortgage, car loan, credit card payments or other debts.

In these cases, you may also want legal help. An attorney can explain the situation to your creditors and convince them to wait. That can be essential if you are worried about legal action like asset seizure.

7. You’re Not Sure Where to Start

Confused? Not sure what to do next? Just have questions in general? Regardless of the specifics of your situation, our team at the Law Offices of Wells and McElwee, P.C., can help you move forward. Give us a call to set up a consultation today.

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