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Our Henderson Workers’ Comp Attorneys Put You First
Workplace accidents happen — a lot. In 2019, private employers nationwide reported nearly 3 million workplace injuries and illnesses. More than 888,000 of those caused an employee to miss at least one day of work. Unfortunately, this number doesn’t even account for injuries resulting in fatalities.
If you suffer injuries at work, regardless of industry, you’re going to want to know more about workers’ compensation in North Carolina and how to file a workers’ compensation claim. And you should consider hiring a Henderson workers’ compensation attorney.
What Should You Do If You’re Injured in a Workplace Accident?
The first step is to make sure everyone knows. Workers’ comp insurance can’t begin to help if you never file a claim.
Report your workplace injury as soon as possible in writing to your supervisor. Tell your coworkers what happened. Fill out an incident report. When you go to the doctor, make sure they know you had an on-the-job injury.
These reports and medical records may become very important to your workers’ compensation claim.
Need a Henderson workers’ compensation lawyer? Contact us right away for a free evaluation. A workers’ comp lawyer can take a lot of stress off and help you seek the compensation and benefits you may deserve.
Why Do Employers Fight Injured Workers’ Claims?
An employer may fight or discourage workers’ compensation claims for four main reasons: to avoid increased insurance premiums and other costs, to discourage others from pursuing workers’ compensation claims, to avoid bad publicity, or because they don’t carry the insurance required by North Carolina workers’ compensation law.
Increased Workers’ Compensation Insurance Premiums and Other Costs
Employers may fear increased premiums as a result of paid-out insurance claims. This would be on top of immediate additional costs for the employer in the aftermath of the injury. For example, other team members might be required to put in overtime while the injured worker heals. The insurance provider isn’t just going to grin and bear it. They recoup payments through increased premiums on the employer.
Discourage Other Workers’ Compensation Claims
But it’s not just about saving money in the short and medium term. An employer who vigorously defends even the most straightforward workers’ compensation claims may effectively discourage other injured workers from filing theirs in the first place. Creating this sort of chilling effect can be very effective in keeping workers’ compensation issues to a minimum and cutting down long-term costs.
Your employer may even believe they are standing on principle by combating workers’ compensation claims. If your employer is biased and believes most injured workers are just trying to scam the system, this attitude can certainly color their actions. With this type of employer, you should strongly consider seeking the advice of a Henderson workers’ compensation attorney.
Fear of Bad Publicity
Your employer may be more worried about bad publicity than any risk of increased premiums. Accepting even an obvious workers’ compensation claim may strike them as a public relations disaster. Or they may be worried about internal strife once they acknowledge a work hazard. Of course, both of these concerns are largely rooted in preserving the company’s ability to make money.
Failure to Carry Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Most employers with three or more employees, with notable exceptions, are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance by law. Without it, injured workers may have to file lawsuits to seek compensation for things like medical bills, back pay, and future medical care. If the employer is supposed to have workers’ comp insurance and doesn’t, workers should contact a workers’ compensation attorney immediately to help safeguard their rights.
How Does a Workers’ Compensation Claim Affect Future Employment?
Officially, not at all. You are exercising your rights as part of a system designed to help both employers and employees. Retaliation by your current employer because you exercised these rights is strictly prohibited under the law. In addition, it is impermissible for a future potential employer to deny you employment because you previously filed a workers’ compensation claim.
However, while asking about your workers’ compensation claim directly may be illegal, a prospective employer may become aware of this information in other ways. For example, if that previous injury may impact your ability to perform tasks at the prospective job, you should not keep it secret. If you say you can perform a work function but you can’t, that may give the new employer grounds to deny a workers’ compensation claim if you get hurt while performing that task.
Does Your Workers’ Compensation Claim Show Up on a Background Check?
Yes, your workers’ compensation claim may show up as part of a background check. While an employer may not ask about your workers’ comp history directly, it is perfectly acceptable for them to run a background check to assess your suitability for employment. For this reason, you may decide that complete transparency throughout the process is the best overall approach.
Do You Need a Lawyer for a Workers’ Compensation Settlement?
It depends, which is why we urge you to claim your free case evaluation. Certainly, if your workplace injury is severe, you should prepare for some obstacles as you pursue compensation. Remember that a for-profit workers’ compensation insurance company has a different agenda than your own. Their primary goal is profit, not necessarily fairness. The money they pay out for lost wages and medical benefits comes right off their bottom line.
Are you going to rely on them to make you aware of all the workers’ compensation benefits you may be entitled to? The more expensive the claim, the more they may fight, such as spine injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and other severe injuries that leave workers permanently disabled. A Henderson workers’ compensation attorney is your advocate and is looking out for your interests.
Don’t Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in Henderson Have Their Own Agendas, Too?
Our agenda is to seek maximum compensation for our clients as quickly as possible. We are proud to help our workers’ compensation clients on a contingency fee basis. That means we don’t want and don’t get an attorney’s fee if we can’t get compensation for you.2 It also means that we make more money if we get more money for our clients, unlike an insurance company – which keeps more money when they pay out less. We believe in ourselves, and we believe in our clients.
Meet Frankie from Henderson: When the insurance company low-balled her on her workers’ compensation claim, she told them she meant business
What Do Henderson Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Do?
So what does a lawyer do for your workers’ comp case that you can’t do for yourself?
First and foremost following a workplace injury, is your health. One of the best things a Henderson workers’ compensation attorney does is let you focus on your recovery while they handle your case. While you’re getting medical treatment, physical therapy, vocational rehabilitation, and any other benefits to which you may be entitled, your lawyer provides legal representation.
One of our Henderson workers’ compensation lawyers can help you:
- Navigate a tricky claims process
- Keep track of deadlines
- Level the playing field with the insurance company
- Fight for your preferred medical care
- Calculate your average weekly wage and fight for your lost wages
- Help ensure your medical bills are covered
- Seek compensation for your work injury – as much and as quickly as possible
- Watch for employer retaliation
- Handle any legal process that results from your claim
- Evaluate any settlement offers, especially in the event of permanent disability
Workers’ compensation attorneys are trained to do this and they do it every day.
See How Berniece Fought Back: “I was very pleased with the outcome of my case.”
Can the Henderson Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at James Scott Farrin Help Me?
Yes. Several of our attorneys are North Carolina State Bar Board-Certified Specialists in workers’ compensation. These attorneys have additional education and training in workers’ compensation law. They have extensive experience helping injured employees recover compensation, from medical expenses to lost income and more.
Our law firm was also recognized on the “Best Law Firms” list by U.S. News – Best Lawyers for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.3 If you’ve suffered injuries sustained at work, contact us today.
Need Someone in Your Corner? How We Helped Jack Level the Playing Field
Protect your rights and your future. For a free case evaluation, contact us online or call us at 1-866-900-7078. You may also make an in-person appointment at our Henderson office. The clock i ticking!
3 For information regarding standards for inclusion, visit usnews.com.
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