Workers’ compensation is a serious concern for many employees. As an employee in Orlando, Florida, your employer’s responsibility goes beyond financial remuneration for your services. Your employer owes it to you to protect you from any harm you face while discharging your duties. To ensure this, the business owner must provide safety equipment and comply with the applicable industry safety standards.
Every facility and equipment must be in pristine condition, and the environment must be free of any harm-inducing elements. But unfortunately, even with all these in place, accidents still do occur, and that’s when your employer’s most crucial responsibility comes into play, which is providing you with adequate compensation. Sadly, this isn’t always the case.
Many employer insurance companies try to avoid paying adequate compensation or not paying anything at all. This reluctance of employers to live up to their responsibility to injured workers is why you need the services of an Orlando workers’ compensation attorney.
If you have been injured in a work-related accident in Orlando and are skeptical about demanding compensation, this article is for you. In it, our Orlando workers’ compensation attorney discusses the most common reasons employees need a financial settlement.
Common Reasons for Needing Workers’ Compensation
While Florida law requires employers to provide insurance coverage to their employees, it is common for insurance companies to deny workers what is due. If you are an employee, you have two options: forfeiting your compensation rights or securing the services of an experienced attorney. Understanding the common reasons why workers demand adequate compensation will help you make the best decision.
Medical Bills
Most workplace injuries require treatment from professional healthcare providers. However, depending on the severity, treatment could be overwhelmingly expensive. Also, if the wound requires prolonged treatment, as some do, you will keep paying medical costs till you get healed.
Getting compensated will save you the trouble and burden of funding your treatment. No matter how unserious the injury might be, if it will require finance, you shouldn’t be paying for it. Instead, you should notify your employer’s insurance company through your attorney to receive funding for it.
The medical costs you need compensation for include:
- Emergency care
- Hospital visits
- Doctor’s visits
- Medications
- Medical testing
- Surgery
- Therapy
Disagreements usually arise between injured workers and their employer’s insurance companies over medical treatment. Therefore, you shouldn’t expect your employer’s insurance company to accept every item on your list of medical expenses.
The insurance company is always trying to cut down on compensation. Having a worker’s compensation lawyer on your side will be a great advantage. A lawyer has the experience and skills to help argue your case and defuse any disagreements.
Lost Wages
If you get injured on the job and have to take a break from work to receive treatment or recover, your worker’s compensation request could include claims for lost wages. This is because if you didn’t suffer an injury, you would have been working and subsequently received your salary.
However, to get work comp benefits, you must meet the following criteria:
- Your injury should be severe enough to make you unavailable for work for no less than seven days
- A recognized healthcare provider must attest to your inability to return to work within the period under consideration
- A recognized healthcare provider must prescribe work restrictions that your employer finds challenging to tolerate
- Receive less than your average weekly remuneration when you return to work
You need to know that lost wages don’t constitute a full payment but a certain fraction or percentage of your regular income.
Many employers try to exploit the workers’ compensation arrangement to their benefit. For example, when a physician prescribes work restrictions, your employer may decide to assign to you a kind of duty they expect you to decline.
This way, your employer can fire you based on the claim that you refused to resume work. If this happens, don’t fret! Your lawyer will help you ascertain the appropriateness of the duty assigned to you and, if needed, contest your employer’s decision to terminate your work contract.
Vocational Rehabilitation
Vocational rehabilitation is yet another common reason for worker’s compensation. If any worker gets injured, they need all the help they can get to get restored. Vocational rehabilitation is a set of procedures that help an injured worker become physically, mentally, and vocationally fit.
These procedures include diagnosis, counseling, vocational training, and job placement. After passing through these procedures, the worker can successfully find a good job or return to their former workplace. Both government and private organizations run rehabilitation centers and programs.
Vocational rehabilitation will provide you with the skills and education to attain as close a rank of employability as you previously had. Florida workers’ compensation law allows a maximum of 26 weeks for vocational rehabilitation and another 26 weeks if an extension is necessary.
Funeral Costs and Care for Dependents
When a worker dies while working for their employer, a relative can claim death benefits. Death benefits usually cover the cost of the burial and care for dependents. Every state prescribes the number of benefits the deceased worker’s family should get. Also, the law specifies how long the deceased’s family members will continue to receive such benefits.
What Can a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Do?
Firstly, your attorney will listen to your account of the events and afterward advise you on the course of action to take. Your lawyer is responsible for meeting with and negotiating with the insurance company on your behalf. If this step fails, your lawyer will appeal the insurer’s decision at the Office of Judges of Compensation Claims. A lawsuit is only possible for third-party claims as workers’ compensation is a no-fault system.
Searching for Experienced Workers’ Compensation Lawyers in Florida?
There are many reasons why you deserve to get reasonable compensation for a workplace injury. The legal team at Florida Lawyers 360 can make your journey to receiving a settlement seamless.
We will cover every process of the workers’ compensation with great care and expertise. We will save you from going through any hectic process and still ensure you are involved in the decisions. Contact us today for a free case review with our Orlando personal injury attorneys.