Workers compensation claims come with many pitfalls, confusing policies and important deadlines. Thousands of dollars can be lost if the claim is not lodged correctly, which is why having a good lawyer by your side is so important. Here are four key reasons why you should use a qualified lawyer for your workers compensation claim:
To correctly lodge your workers compensation claim
Workers compensation claims come with many nuances and hidden pitfalls, for example, did you know: You need to make a claim within 6 months from the date of your injury? You can only start court proceedings on work injury damages after six months from the date of your injury? You must have an 11% or more physical impairment if you wish to lodge for a permanent impairment claim? What about the difference between a permanent impairment payout and work injury damages?
The whole process can be confusing, frustrating and difficult if you don’t have an experienced lawyer by your side, helping to guide you on what comes next, ensuring that you don’t miss any deadlines and that your claim is lodged correctly.
To ensure that you are correctly compensated for your injury
If the insurance company tries to reduce your entitlements beyond what is fair, a competent lawyer will be able to identify it and renegotiate on your behalf.
This is particularly important if you are claiming a lump sum payment like a permanent physical impairment payout or work injury damages. These cases can have significant compensation at stake for you and the insurance company and can be far more complex than just proving an injury. You will need to prove things like what percentage of your whole body is impaired, that your injury was sustained at work and, depending on the case, that it was caused by your employer’s negligence. On top of that you will need to know what to do if the insurance company offers you a low settlement, how to file for mediation and how to properly respond to any disputes that arise in the evidence. None of this is easy, particularly if you are recovering from a serious injury.
To review your evidence
At the core of these cases is what evidence you put in front of the other side and how well it holds up to scrutiny. This is why having an experienced lawyer, who understands what the other side is looking for, review your evidence and statements is vital to ensuring that not only is the documentation useful to your case but also that it doesn’t give the insurer any reason to deny your claim.
To protect your rights
A trained specialist in workers compensation will know exactly what benefits you have a right to claim and what you have to do to get them. Even more importantly however they will be able to protect you from doing things for the insurance company that you do not need to do. Many insurers for example try to decline claims by arranging ‘independent’ medical assessments. Your lawyer will know that they can only do this under very specific circumstances and advise you whether you have a right to object and/or obtain a medical assessment of your own in response to the insurer’s assessment.