Do I Need a Lawyer for a worker's Compensation Claim in Florida?
A job injury lawyer levels the playing field.
Job injury victims absolutely need lawyers in Florida. Insurance companies earn over $1 trillion a year. So, they have stables of high-priced lawyers who dispute the validity of a claim or, more likely, the amount of benefits the insurance company must pay. A job injury victim taking on an insurance company lawyer is like a middleweight fighting a heavyweight. It’s not a fair contest.
A Tampa worker's compensation lawyer evens the odds. Instead of assuming the insurance company will do the right thing, a lawyer diligently builds a strong, evidence-based case. This case often includes evidence that Claims Examiners either accidentally or deliberately overlooked during initial reviews. The extra attention to detail always pays off in the end.
Responsibility Issues
Many insurance company lawyers insist that the victim’s injury or illness was not work-related and therefore worker's compensation does not apply.
These denials are common in WFH (work from home) injury cases. Many lawyers argue that they didn’t control the home office environment and therefore they are not responsible for the victim’s injury. This argument logically makes sense and is often convincing in personal injury cases, but it usually falls flat in worker's compensation matters.
For worker's compensation purposes, a home office is basically a branch office. No one would deny that insurance companies are legally responsible for job-related injuries at branch offices.
Alternatively, insurance company lawyers often argue that the victim was not “working” at the time of the injury. Once again, this argument falls flat. Employees injured on breaks or in company cafeterias aren’t technically working either, but these injuries are covered injuries. The same analysis applies to WFH matters.
Occupational diseases, like toxic exposure respiratory issues, often involve a pre-existing or non-work medical condition, like smoking. A Tampa worker's compensation lawyer can obtain maximum benefits in these cases if the pre-existing or non-work condition contributed to the work-related occupational disease.
The line between a substantial and a contributing cause is often fuzzy. For this reason, a Tampa personal injury lawyer must often partner with an independent doctor who provides the necessary evidence.
Compensation Matters
worker's compensation replaces lost wages and pays all reasonably necessary medical bills. If they cannot deny liability, insurance company lawyers often chip away at these benefits.
Lost wage replacement benefits normally hinge on the AWW (average weekly wage). In this context, “wage” is different from “net pay.” The AWW includes matching 401(k) contributions and other non-cash income.
Furthermore, the AWW also accounts for future lost wages, even in temporary disability cases. If Sue gets hurt at work the day before her probation expires, her AWW must be based on her higher regular wages.
The reasonably necessary requirement is often an issue as well. Most insurance companies use generic tables based on the average medical bills in certain situations. This approach usually makes sense in property damage claims. But an injured worker is not a house or a car. People need top-notch medical care that usually costs more than “average” medical care.
Contact a Diligent Pasco County Lawyer
Victims need and deserve compensation for their serious injuries. For a confidential consultation with an experienced worker's compensation lawyer in New Port Richey, contact the Rooth Law Firm. Mr. Rooth is a Board Certified attorney in workers' compensation law by the Florida Bar Association, a distinction that fewer than one percent of all Florida lawyers have.