When you have been injured at work or you have gotten sick as a result of workplace exposures, you cannot rely on your employer or their workers’ compensation provider to pay you all of the benefits you need to recover. Your employer may dispute that your injury was work-related, or their insurer will attempt to only cover some of your medical costs while avoiding full wage replacement benefits. In these situations, you may feel helpless. But attorney Ali Awad wants to equip you with the knowledge and resources needed to feel empowered.
Famously known as the CEO Lawyer, Ali Awad knows the legal strategies and evidence you need to be able to seek top dollar for your workers’ compensation claim. Awad has garnered millions of followers on social media through his advice, and his guidance could mean the difference in the success of your workers’ comp claim.
Reach out to the injury and accident attorneys at the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm, to schedule a free, no-risk case review. We’ll discuss your situation in detail and help you determine the best path forward to recovering after your accident. Whether you’re appealing your denied claim or haven’t filed yet, don’t hesitate. Contact us online or call (833) 254-2923 now to get started on seeking the money you need to recover.
Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Helping You Get Back on Your Feet
We go to our jobs expecting to raise our financial status and well-being. But sometimes, the very nature of our work puts us in harm’s way. In these situations, you may end up with a work-related injury or illness that results in steep medical bills. Not only that, but your occupational injury also often means that you can’t return to work for days or weeks at a time. In some cases, you may never be able to work the same job again.
Working with an experienced lawyer for workers’ compensation can help you see the light at the end of the tunnel. By working with an attorney, you can seek to thoroughly document your injury, receive an accurate diagnosis, calculate the full extent of your damages, and seek benefits for your past, current, and future losses.
Benefits Available Could Include:
- Medical treatments coverage, including future care
- Replacement wages
- Rehabilitation
- Vocational retraining
- Funeral and burial benefits for fatal incidents
Most Common Types of Workers’ Compensation Claims
A workers’ compensation claim can stem from any type of job-related injury, including one caused by a single accident or one that results from cumulative harm, such as repetitive stress. Workers’ compensation claims can also be filed in the event of an illness or condition caused by exposure to a toxic substance, harmful chemical, or infectious disease.
The following categories are the most common reasons employees miss work because of injury or illness, according to the National Safety Council.
Exposure to Harmful Substances or Environments (Includes COVID-19)
This category of work-related injury encompasses all harmful exposures. That includes exposures to electricity, extreme heat or cold, pressure changes, low-oxygen environments, toxic substances, and even certain traumatic or stressful work events.
Notably, this category also includes exposures to contagious and infectious diseases, which includes the novel coronavirus or COVID-19. Work-related COVID-19 exposures have led to an enormous increase in this category of claims, raising it from the #6 most common reason for missed days of work to #1 in 2020.
Overexertion and Bodily Reaction
This type of work-related injury can happen through a sudden event or gradually, sometimes even a mixture of the two. It involves any strains, tears, or other bodily harm that can happen from excessive physical effort. Common events leading to overexertion include lifting, holding, throwing, turning, carrying, and using equipment requiring physical effort to operate.
This category also includes injuries related to repetitive stress, including reaching, repetitive motions with tools, or other work that could be considered “low impact” but that nevertheless causes inflammation, soreness, strains, or the breakdown in tissues within the sufferer.
Slips, Trips, and Falls
Any slip or fall could result in a serious injury, including a strain, sprain, broken one, muscle/tendon/ligament tear, head trauma, and more. Even a fall in which the victim catches themselves can still create a form of injury, especially in the thighs, hips, or shoulders.
Falling can occur on the same level, or it can involve a fall to a lower level. The fall may be caused by a loss of balance as well as a collapse, breakup of the standing surface, or a faulty/misused ladder, scaffold, or another piece of equipment.
Contacts With Objects
For years, contact with objects was the #3 primary cause of missed days of work related to an injury or illness until the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. This category includes any object striking the worker and the worker striking against an object. The worker may be caught between two objects, pinched, squeezed, or compressed.
This category can also refer to incidents where a worker is caught in collapsing material or equipment or a situation where vibrations, friction, or pressure from an object led to the injury.
Transportation Incidents (Car and Truck Accidents)
Driving is a perpetually dangerous activity, with no exceptions for those driving a car, truck, or another work vehicle. Work-related car accidents qualify as a workers’ compensation-covered event in most instances, excluding travel to and from work when the employee is technically “off the clock.” However, travel where the worker can claim mileage or expenses is mainly covered, with very few exceptions.
If you have been hurt in a car accident or truck accident while working, talk to our experienced workers’ compensation lawyers to learn whether your incident should be covered.
Violence and Other Injuries by Persons or Animals
Workplace violence can stem from a coworker, a customer, a third-party visitor, or even non-human animals. These injuries are claimable so long as the incident in question occurred within the scope of employment.
Fire and Explosions
These injuries are often serious and can result in a loss of limb, permanent disfigurement, and an inability to return to your prior position following recovery.
How Do I Know If My Injury or Illness Is Covered by Workers’ Comp?
Workers’ compensation insurance plans are supposed to cover a very broad range of illnesses and injuries, with the one general rule that they must have occurred “within the scope of employment.”
A basic way to look at it is to ask two questions: Was I on the clock? Was I doing something requested implicitly or explicitly by a superior?
The latter question can reveal that many injuries and illnesses at the workplace are not something that happened as a result of the employee’s own actions but rather as a result of something directly or indirectly requested by the employer.
Your injury should be covered even if your own actions or decisions played a role in causing it. Workers’ compensation is a “no-fault” system, which is supposed to allow for claims without having to prove that the injury was a total accident or that it was the employer’s fault.
Exceptions to Workers’ Compensation Coverage
There are a few scenarios where someone injured in a work-related incident may be unable to claim workers’ compensation. These include nearly any situation related to:
- Fraudulent misrepresentation of an injury or illness
- Intentional attacks
- Being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol
- An intentional injury a victim inflicted upon themself
Pre-existing conditions are also not covered by workers’ compensation. However, any condition made worse or made more medically complicated through the course of employment duties could still be eligible for partial or near-total compensation benefits. Speak to a workplace accident lawyer to learn more.
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim With a Work Injury Lawyer?
The exact requirements and process for filing a workers’ compensation claim vary from state to state. In Georgia, for example, the employee has up to 30 days to report the accident, injury, or illness to the employer once the condition is first acquired or detected. The worker can then receive an examination. Certain states only allow for workers to receive a diagnosis from a physician in-network or who is chosen by the workers’ compensation provider, whereas others allow the injured worker to choose their own physician.
No matter what physician you plan to see, consider that time is of the essence. You want to be able to report your claim and document your injury in full within the window granted by your employer and their workers’ compensation provider.
Appealing Denied Claims With Help From Workplace Accident Attorneys
If your request for workers’ compensation benefits has been denied, don’t panic. You may still be eligible to appeal your denial. This appeal is often done with a state-run workers’ compensation board, although certain states do not have them. Hiring a work injury lawyer can allow you to fully understand the reasons for the denial and attempt to address them when presenting your appeal to a judge, board member, or insurance company representative.
Hire a Lawyer for Workers’ Compensation Who Wants to See You Get Better Again
Workplace injuries and occupational illnesses can have a significant effect on our health. We may need extensive medical care to recover, and we may miss several weeks or months from work.
CEO Lawyer Ali Awad and his workplace accident attorney team understand the toll this can all take on your life and your future plans. We want you to be able to recover from your incident, and if possible, return to gainful employment as soon as you are ready. Your recovery depends on your ability to get the care and time off you need, though, so workers’ compensation benefits are crucial.
We will fight for you and your ability to claim the maximum amount of benefits allowed for your particular injury. Entrust the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm to help you handle your claim from start to finish and keep you in control of your case’s key decisions. Through our assistance, you and your family could have a better, brighter future.
Contact us online or call (833) 254-2923 today to schedule your free, confidential, no-obligation case review.
