We Help Victims of Work Accidents in Hammond Pursue Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Benefits for Their Injuries
The knowledgeable Hammond workers’ comp attorneys at Midwest Injury Lawyers can first meet with you to determine your eligibility for filing a workers’ compensation or third-party claim arising from your workplace accident. If you are eligible to pursue monetary recovery from your employer’s insurance company, we can help you with every step of the process, including filing a claim on your behalf, exploring settlement options, and representing you at hearings.
In addition, we can determine if you may file a third-party personal injury claim or lawsuit arising from your workplace accident. If so, we can handle your claim for you and help you achieve a favorable monetary settlement or litigation result.
Our experienced legal team will take the necessary actions to help you maximize your total economic benefits and other compensation. For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with a skilled Hammond workers’ compensation lawyer, please call or contact us online today for more information.
Workplace Occurrences that Lead to Serious Injuries and Illnesses
Injuries and illnesses in the workplace are, unfortunately, all too common. While these medical conditions sometimes result from others’ negligence, other medical conditions develop slowly over time. Fortunately, workers’ compensation benefits are no-fault benefits. Therefore, an injured worker does not need to prove that someone else caused the accident or circumstance that led to their injury or illness.
Some of the most common occurrences that lead to workplace injuries and illnesses include:
- Slip and fall accidents that occur on workplace premises or on construction equipment at a job site
- Accidents occur when a heavy piece of machinery or equipment runs a worker over, causing them to suffer internal injuries, such as bone fractures or internal organ damage
- Motor vehicle accidents happen when an employee drives a company vehicle, and another driver negligently causes a crash.
- Explosions or fires that happen on a job site
- Product malfunctions when machinery or equipment fails to work correctly, perhaps due to a manufacturing or design defect
- Illnesses that result from chemical exposure on a job site
- Illnesses that result from exposure to harmful substances on a job site, including asbestos
- Injuries that result from repetitive motion or movement, such as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)
Workers who find themselves victims of various accidents at their workplace may suffer equally serious injuries, all of which may be compensable through the workers’ compensation system.
Common workplace injuries and illnesses that employees frequently suffer include:
Traumatic head and brain injuries
Spinal cord injuries
Complete or incomplete paralysis injuries
Soft tissue contusions, including whiplash
Road rash injuries from scraping along the pavement
Deep lacerations or abrasions
Visible scarring
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Asthma and other breathing difficulties
Internal organ damage, such as from a crush injury
If you suffered one or more of these medical complications in an accident or occurrence that happened at your workplace, you have legal options to consider.
Our skilled legal team at Midwest Injury Lawyers can meet with you to discuss your workplace occurrence and develop a plan of action to help you recover the monetary benefits and total compensation you deserve. We can then help you file a workers’ claim or a third-party personal injury claim in a timely manner.
Steps to Take after Involvement in a Workplace Accident
If you suffered an injury or illness in a workplace occurrence, you should take the necessary legal steps to safeguard your right to recover monetary benefits and compensation.
First, you should report the injury or illness to your human resources contact person. They will likely ask you to fill out a form you must promptly return. Submitting this form puts the employer’s insurance company on notice of a potential workers’ compensation claim for monetary benefits.
In addition to reporting your injury or illness to your employer, you should seek prompt medical treatment for all of your accident-related injuries. In many situations, you cannot simply seek treatment from any medical provider of your choosing. Instead, your employer may provide you with a list of healthcare professionals with whom you can obtain the medical treatment that you need.
Seeking early medical intervention helps to ensure that your injury or illness does not become worse over time. Moreover, seeking prompt medical treatment helps to show insurance companies that your medical condition is severe and that you are making medical treatment a top priority in your case.
In fact, if there are significant gaps in your medical treatment, your employer’s insurance company may become skeptical about the seriousness of your claimed injury or illness and refuse to offer you fair monetary compensation and benefits.
Who is Eligible to File a Workers’ Comp Claim in Hammond?
Individuals must meet specific qualifications to be eligible for filing a workers’ comp claim for benefits. Specifically, the individual must have suffered their injury while they were working at their job and while working within the scope of their employment.
Working within the scope of one’s employment typically means that the employee suffered an illness or injury while undertaking one or more job duties. In the case of some medical conditions, like carpal tunnel syndrome, the injury may develop over time but not necessarily right away.
In addition, independent contractors are not usually eligible to recover workers’ compensation benefits for on-the-job injuries. In some cases, it may be difficult to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. Generally speaking, employers have greater control over employees in terms of setting work hours and prescribing work duties.
Independent contractors, on the other hand, are usually freer to work when they want, and they may not be eligible for various benefits from their employer, such as health insurance or retirement benefits. An employee typically receives a W-2 Form at tax time, while an independent contractor typically receives a Form-1099.
If you are an employee and suffered an injury or illness while at your job, our knowledgeable legal team at Midwest Injury Lawyers can help you file a workers’ compensation claim for benefits within a reasonable amount of time. As soon as you retain us for legal representation, we can start gathering the necessary medical records and other documentation to file a claim with your employer’s insurance company right away.
Do not hesitate to meet with our team for free and learn how we can assist you.
Filing a Workers’ Comp Claim for Various Benefits
A knowledgeable workers’ comp attorney in Hammond can help you file a claim that seeks various monetary benefits. The types and amounts of monetary benefits that you may recover through a workers’ comp claim will depend upon the circumstances surrounding your accident or occurrence, the specific injuries you suffered, the amount of time that you had to take off work, and the cost of your related medical treatment.
Compensable benefits that individuals can recover through a workers’ compensation claim include:
- Compensation for all related medical expenses
- Compensation for anticipated medical costs
- A portion of the worker’s lost income
- Vocational rehabilitation benefits
- Various permanency benefits
For an injured worker to recover permanency benefits, they must ordinarily have suffered an injury that is unlikely to get better over time. To establish that a particular injury is permanent in nature, a medical provider must ordinarily state that fact (in writing) to a reasonable degree of medical certainty. The medical provider can also draft a permanency evaluation report we can send to the employer’s insurance company.
In most instances, a medical provider will quantify a permanent injury as a percentage of impairment. For example, if a worker suffers a permanent eye injury in an accident, the medical provider may establish that they sustained a 10 percent permanent impairment. This percentage will then translate into a certain number of weeks of compensation.
Eligibility to File a Third-party Claim after a Workplace Accident
Some employees who suffer injuries or illnesses while at work can also pursue a third-party personal injury claim or lawsuit. Since the Workers’ Compensation System provides monetary benefits to injured workers, employees cannot file a third-party claim or lawsuit directly against their employer. However, they can file a claim against a specific individual or entity who behaved negligently and caused their accident.
For example, an injured worker can file a third-party claim against:
- A motor vehicle operator who caused their worksite accident
- A negligent contractor or supervisor
- A product manufacturer who defectively assembled or designed a product that malfunctioned on the job site
- A site owner who failed to make timely repairs to a defective or hazardous condition on the premises
Our experienced legal team can help you determine if you’re eligible to assert a third-party claim or lawsuit seeking additional monetary damages for your workplace injuries.
Recoverable Third-Party Damages
As part of a third-party personal injury claim or lawsuit, accident victims may be eligible to recover additional monetary damages beyond the benefits they already received via their workers’ compensation claim. However, a third-party insurance company may attempt to reduce your monetary damages in a third-party claim—especially if you already received significant workers’ compensation benefits for your medical expenses and lost income.
The monetary damages that an injured employee can recover through a third-party claim will typically depend upon the nature and extent of their injuries, the pain and suffering that they endured, as well as the general circumstances surrounding their workplace occurrence.
Potential monetary damages may include additional compensation for:
-
Mental distress
1 -
Emotional anguish
2 -
Physical and mental pain and suffering
3 -
Loss of life enjoyment
4 -
Permanent scarring or disfigurement
5 -
Future medical costs
6 -
Loss of spousal companionship or consortium
7
Proving a Third-party Personal Injury Claim
To recover monetary compensation as part of a third-party claim, an injured employee must establish that another person or entity caused their accident and was negligent under the circumstances.
Specifically, the injured employee must establish that:
- Another party owed them a legal duty of care
- The other party violated their legal duty of care
- The violation caused the subsequent accident or occurrence
- The worker suffered one or more injuries as a direct result of this violation
Contact a Hammond Workers’ Comp Lawyer Today
If you suffered injuries in a workplace occurrence, you should retain a skilled attorney to represent you as quickly as possible. Waiting too long to seek the legal representation you need may jeopardize your ability to recover favorable monetary benefits and other compensation. Reach out to a Hammond personal injury lawyer.
At Midwest Injury Lawyers, our legal team can promptly review your case, file a workers’ compensation or third-party claim or lawsuit on your behalf, and represent you in all legal proceedings along the way.
For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with a skilled Hammond workers’ comp lawyer, please call us at (219) 533-0091 or contact us online to learn more today.
Client Testimonial
“We are so happy with our decision to utilize the services of Midwest Injury Lawyers. They were so kind and kept us informed and educated on our options to make the best decision for our family.” -Leah C. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Read more of our Google reviews.
Midwest Injury Lawyers – Hammond Office
2901 Carlson Drive Suite 363,
Hammond, IN 46323
Phone: (219) 200-0151
A Word from our Work Injury Attorney
Receiving maximum compensation for workplace injuries requires knowledge of workers’ compensation law, as well as the ability to identify any negligent third parties who may share some responsibility for causing an injury. It is crucial to get advice from an attorney who understands how to obtain quick and sufficient compensation for a workplace injury.
– Chester L. Cameron
Request a Free Consultation
Tell our experienced team about your accident and/or injuries. One of our personal injury attorneys will contact you to schedule a free case evaluation. Remember: you won’t pay for anything unless we secure a compensation on your behalf.
Call (312) 786-5881 or send us a message online to get started.