When you suffer an injury on the job, your employer’s workers’ compensation policy is in place to cover many kinds of needs and expenses. However, your employer’s insurance provider’s primary concern is not your best interests or ultimate health and well-being.
In order to get everything you deserve out of a workers’ compensation claim, many people find that it is useful to enlist the guidance and representation of an experienced attorney who understands the nuances of the workers’ compensation system in general, as well as standards of care and benefits you should expect in Modesto.
Not all benefits are the same, even if one injury is similar to another. Often, where a person lives and works greatly affects recovery and the kinds of benefits he or she receives.
Knowledgeable guidance helps you understand what you truly deserve and walks with you through your recovery.
Medical and disability benefits
In broad terms, workers’ compensation claims seek four basic types of benefits — compensation for lost wages, compensation for permanent disability, compensation to pay for retraining after an injury, and compensation for medical expenses.
In almost all cases, medical expenses represent the greatest dollar amounts in any workers’ compensation claim. With proper legal guidance, you can ensure that your recovery does not suffer because your ensurer places limits on where you seek medical treatment. Furthermore, an experienced attorney negotiates with the insurer to secure the best terms for your rehabilitative care and any future medical costs that may arise due to your injury.
The most important thing to is to make sure that no medical costs affect you directly, and that the any conflicts with an insurer resolve fairly to keep your treatment and recovery the top priority.
Quality legal counsel is exceptionally useful when it comes to seeking fair compensation for any permanent disability your injury leaves you. Insurers often make a lowball disability offer and hope that no one challenges it. An attorney who understands the true value of a disability can ensure that you don’t accept less than you deserve.
Lost wages and retraining benefits
Aside from the costs of recovery and compensation for your possible disability, workers’ compensation should compensate you fairly for your lost wages from time away from work. This is usually a rather straightforward process, but you should never underestimate the possibility that an employer or insurer may try to avoid paying the full share that your deserve.
It is also possible that your injury requires that you undergo special retraining to return to your work, or to move to another position if it is not possible to return to your original job.
Each of these are areas where employers or insurers may balk at paying fair compensation. The representation of an experienced attorney is usually enough to convince them to play (and pay) fairly.
No matter what your on-the-job injury entails, it is rarely wise to trust your recovery and ongoing fair compensation to an employer or insurer. Typically, you receive significantly better benefits with the help of strong legal counsel.
