Do you Really need at Attorney to Collect Workers Compensation?

As Americans, we live in a country that luckily has provisions for people who are injured on the job. As we all know, there are tons of places where working conditions are not only dangerous, but their government has no intention of regulating them to create a fair environment for both employer and employee.

However, just because a system is in place, doesn’t mean that it is intuitive in nature. Our legal landscape regarding workers compensation is not easily navigable for all people. There are plenty of potholes to avoid, and having a lawyer to help work through the process is extremely helpful.

Here are a few reasons why an attorney can help make a workers compensation case a more pleasant process.

Understanding the Legal Landscape:

Before starting a workers compensation claim, it is important to understand how the frameworks of the law affect your claim. First, its important to understand that when you file a workers compensation claim, you are effectively suing the company over their unsafe working conditions.

Many people think that just because there is a legal framework in place, that workers compensation is their right. In reality, you will be the plaintiff and your employer is the defendant in a small-scale lawsuit addressing their working conditions and how that affected your health. Knowing this fact makes the rest of the process a lot more clear.

In anticipation and as a safety net against workers compensation claims, most employers have an insurance policy, with which such claims are lodged. For the plaintiff, this means that not only are they fighting their employer, but also the insurance company. Insurance companies don’t make money by paying out for every claim they receive, so they have a vested interest in defeating any claim by making it seem that the employee somehow caused the injury.

To do so, insurance companies and your employer will show up to any court hearing with a team of lawyers whose sole job is to make it seem that any injury you sustained was from a lack of care, unwillingness to follow company procedure, or greed. When you go to make your case, thee lawyers are specially trained to ask questions and make points that not only discredit you as a plaintiff, but can trick you into answering a question honestly that also works against you.

How an Attorney can Help:

The purpose of having an attorney when you begin a claim process is not about trying to take your employer down a peg. Many people make the wrong assumption that a person who gets representation is a fraud and trying to game the system. However, as most who choose to represent themselves soon find, Insurance companies and employers will go to great lengths to make your claim seem ridiculous.

Their attorneys are trained to ask leading questions and work tirelessly to discredit you. In particularly large cases of employer negligence, many plaintiffs find that the defendant’s lawyers have gone through their past records to dig up anything they can to discredit you as a honorable human being.

Having an attorney present not only gives you a guide to go through the process with confidence, but it gives you another layer of protection against the sometimes-ruthless defenses that you’ll face. Insurance companies spread the fallacy that an honest man doesn’t need representation, but it is patently not true. They will gladly go to any length to defeat a large claim, and without an attorney to defend you; you may find yourself on the stand being attacked based on a perceived lack of competence or character.

Remember, as an employee in the United States of America, you have rights. Whether you choose to enforce those rights properly is your choice, but if you have been permanently injured as a direct result of your employer’s negligence, don’t hesitate to defend yourself.

Pete Wise is a content marketer working with Customer Paradigm. This article is to let the people of Colorado know that there is help for those injured at work; and to find an expert workers compensation attorney If you liked the article, check out Pete’s Site for Denver SEO: PeteWiseSEO.com