5 Reasons You May Need A Florida Worker’s Compensation Attorney
A worker’s compensation attorney helps workers who are injured at the workplace to recover compensation for their injuries, ensuring that they are made whole. The right attorney can help recover compensation due to medical bills and lost wages. Depending on the injury, the attorney can help build a case for you to obtain permanent total disability benefits, medical benefits, and vocational rehabilitation benefits.
In the state of Florida, temporary disability benefits are calculated as being two-thirds of average weekly wages just before the injury occurred, with it maxing it out $939 a week for 2019. For more debilitating injuries, the benefits are higher – you’re owed 80% of pre-injury wages for the first 6 months. There are many moving parts when it comes to securing compensation as a worker in Florida, with an attorney being able to demystify the process.
5 Reasons You May Need A Florida Worker’s Compensation Attorney
1. Obtaining adequate compensation for work-related injuries. The job of the employer’s insurance company is to assess injury claims and to get it settled at the lowest possible cost. As an employee, this means that you might be left with the short end of the stick. A compensation lawyer will guarantee that you receive fair compensation, taking all expenses into consideration.
2. Without an attorney, your claim might be denied. Obtaining compensation after an injury is stifled with the bureaucracy that can make it difficult for a lone worker to obtain proper reimbursement. An attorney will help appeal any denials through the workers’ compensation system, which will require you to file paperwork, and use legal tools to gather and secure evidence.
3. Injured at the job, and you haven’t been made whole yet. Under section 440.19, an injured person has two years after a work-related injury to file for compensation benefits. Sometimes employers will suggest that you do not file for a claim and are willing to distract you past the two-year mark. This happens too often, with workers trusting their employers to do the right thing. Unfortunately, you will be left high and dry, with injuries incurring costs.
4. The case of pre-existing conditions. If you have a pre-existing condition, it will be much more difficult and complex to secure workers’ compensation. The insurance companies will blame your injury on these pre-existing conditions and ignore or minimize how the work environment contributed to it. This is especially true if you work in an industry where you are exposed to repetitive stress injuries. An attorney will be able to gather adequate evidence and demonstrate how any pre-existing conditions did not contribute to your injuries.
5. Ability to perform has been negatively impacted. Even if you were able to recover enough to go back to work, there will be cases where you will deal with the injury and its long-term ramifications. If you cannot work again, you will need to maximize your compensation benefits and structure them to last. If the injury requires that you leave your industry and work in another, an attorney can assist with that.
Thompson and Thomas are experienced lawyers in the field of workers’ compensation in the state of Florida. If you are having a hard time securing compensation after a work-related injury, contact us.