Alabama's Personal Injury Lawyer
You can apply for workers' compensation benefits when you are hurt during your job duties. They help you pay the bills while you recover from those injuries. Sometimes, an application will be denied, or your benefits will be cut off before fully recovering. If you need help, contact one of our workers' compensation lawyers from Mezrano Law Firm may be able to help. Contact us today.
The workers’ compensation system is a state-run program that benefits workers injured in the workplace. Every state in the United States has its own workers’ compensation program, with rules that vary but with a similar structure. Employers are generally required to purchase workers’ compensation insurance which covers their liability when a worker is injured or is diagnosed with an occupational disease.
The workers’ compensation program was designed to bargain between employers and workers. The employees are given a no-fault benefit program that covers their medical expenses and a partial wage replacement benefit when they have sustained an injury that will cause them to lose three or more days at work. In exchange, workers are barred from suing their employer for a workplace injury, even if it was caused by the employer’s negligence. Call one of our workers' compensation lawyers today if you or someone you love was injured from work-related duties.
The following is a summary of the benefits of the Alabama workers’ compensation program. More specific details are available on the Alabama Department of Labor’s website.
If you get hurt on the job and need to claim weekly benefits, you take your average weekly earnings for the last 52 months and then multiply it by 66 2/3. So, earning $400 a week, your weekly benefits should be about $268.
The other benefits are calculated like this:
When injured workers file a workers’ compensation claim, they will receive the benefits based on the injury and medical care.
If the worker’s injury was caused by a negligent third party, such as the manufacturer of a defective tool, the worker might be able to file a third-party personal injury lawsuit. The difference between filing a personal injury claim and a workers’ compensation claim is that for a personal injury claim, you must be able to prove that the at-fault party’s negligence was the direct cause of your injury. In a workers’ compensation claim, you must prove that the injury took place at work while you were doing regular work tasks. Your Alabama workers’ compensation lawyers will explain how each works and which applies to your case.
In Alabama, there were 83 fatal workplace injuries in 2017, which is down by 17 from the previous year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. .
Transportation injuries resulted in 34 fatal work-related injuries, down from 61 injuries in the previous year. Contact with objects and equipment accounted for 21 workplace fatalities over 16 years ago. Falls, slips, and trips accounted for 13 workplace injuries, and exposure to harmful substances and all other injuries accounted for the rest of the fatalities.
There is no limit to the type of injury covered by workers’ compensation. The injury must have been sustained while the worker was performing regular work tasks. Some examples of the most common types of workplace injuries include:
The following is a list of some of the more common types of occupational diseases as compiled by the International Labour Organization (ILO):
If your disease or medical condition was caused by occupational exposure in your current job or from a previous place of employment, an experienced Alabama workers’ compensation lawyer could fight for you.
You are never required to hire a lawyer to represent you, but here are a few reasons it makes sense:
Remember that insurance companies have a legal team full of lawyers whose singular mission is to ensure you recover as little compensation as possible. Having a trusted attorney on your side will give you the confidence to go up against the insurance company trying to deny your benefits.
A skilled workers' compensation attorney will meet with you for a free initial consultation to discuss your workplace injury or occupational disease case. If they agree to take your case, you are not required to pay a retainer fee upfront. Instead, the law firm will advance the costs of pursuing your case. If you win your case, your lawyer will get paid a 15% contingency fee from the total amount of your settlement or judgment, as stipulated in the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act.
If you have been injured at work and you are facing any type of dispute with your employer's workers' compensation insurer or with the Alabama Workers' Compensation Division, you will need experienced representation to level the playing field. Mezrano Law Firm can help you get the help you need. We represent clients injured in the workplace throughout the state with offices in Birmingham, Mobile, Florence, Gadsden, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa. You may schedule your free consultation to discuss your case with a skilled Alabama workers' compensation lawyer by calling 205-206-6300 or filling out our contact form today.
If you have a case, you have a lawyer. Contact us now to learn more about what we can do for you.
