After experiencing a work-related injury or disease, often employees wonder if they need to hire a workers’ comp lawyer! Thankfully, workers’ compensation law is mandated to ensure that workers can get the required benefits and healthcare after workplace injuries and equally to prevent them from entering into lawsuits against their employers which could be overwhelming for them. Therefore in general, there is no reason of hiring any lawyer. However, as stated by Charles Spinelli that occasionally situations occur when getting legal support can be helpful for employees. Keep reading to know when an employee should consult a workers’ compensation lawyer.
Having A Pre-Existing Condition
Having any severe underlying health condition could be a good reason for the insurer to deny the benefits of compensation that an employee deserves. Often insurers and employers claim that the pre-existing health condition is the reason for the current disease to deny the claim. However, a pre-existing health condition does not make an employee disqualified to receive benefits alongside partial wage replacement under workers’ compensation. Having legal support is vital to prove it and get lawful claims.
The Employer Denies The Claim Of Benefit
According to Charles Spinelli, the first job of an employee whose claim was denied is to figure out the reason for rejection. This needs to be explained in the letter of denial. There are certain grounds when the eligibility of getting benefits under workers’ compensation get void. For instance, involving in horseplay, found being intoxicated at the time of injury, etc. Therefore if the employee believes the ground of denial is wrong, he/she has the legal right to appeal. Often insurance companies give excuses like the injury was not reported within the time, filing of the claim was not done in time, and so on.
According to the personality that the biggest problem is that most employees have no or minimal knowledge about the laws of workers’ compensation insurance and both insurers and employers take advantage of it. With legal empowerment, lawyers examine the ins and outs of the claim, if there is any administrative problem like delayed filing of a claim due to negligence of the employer or the department, the employer will be legally liable to compensate the loss or benefits. Often the amount of compensation is settled in negotiation between the lawyer and employer to bypass the complex and time-consuming legal path.
The Benefits Offered Do Not Cover All Lost Wages And Medical Bills
It is not strange to find incorrect calculations of lost wages which could leave the victim getting fewer benefits compared to the legitimate benefits one should get. Similarly, if all medical bills and expenses related to the injury are not covered, then it will leave the victim to pay out of pocket. Under such circumstances, working with a workers’ compensation attorney could be the best resort to get lawful benefits and lost wages.
A Serious Injury That Impedes An Employee To Work For An Extended Time
In the event, a severe injury hinders an employee for a prolonged period or permanently, the cost associated with treatment and benefits is likely to be considerably high. In such cases, the insurance and the employer are more likely to take steps to lessen the legal benefits to avoid paying the enormous costs. According to Charles Spinelli, in such cases, employees just should stop accepting the lesser payment. Instead, hiring a lawyer should be the right choice since they can fight and get a considerably higher benefit that they deserve by the law. Noteworthy that accepting a lesser benefit will rob their right to take any further legal action.