Workplace Injury Lawyer in Dothan

Getting hurt on the job is one of the biggest fears many Alabama workers have. It is the fear of getting so badly injured that they can’t work and provide for their families. No hardworking person should ever have to worry about what happens if they are injured on the job. If you have been injured on the job, call our experienced Dothan Workplace Injury Lawyers at Gartlan Injury Law today for a free consultation!

However, the reality is that workplace injuries do often result in serious economic hardship for the worker and his or her family. There’s a loss of income, high medical bills, and lots of frustration, inconvenience, and pain. So what can be done after a work injury?

The good news is that victims of workplace accidents are typically entitled to workers’ compensation benefits to help offset their financial losses. While these benefits are supposed to be paid without much hassle, the truth is that many injured workers need help from an attorney to get the full benefits they deserve under the law.

Reasons Insurers Give for Denied Claims

Here are two of the more common tactics used, along with methods of combating them.

• They Say You Are Not Actually an Employee – The first big defense is calling a worker an independent contractor. Often people are paid with a 1099 and labeled an independent contractor or subcontractor when really they have little to distinguish them from any other employee. The problem with this defense is it is often based on just the method of payment. Tax rules are very different from workers’ compensation laws. Just because an employer calls someone a contractor does not mean the person is exempt from compensation. Things that will be taken into consideration may include:
  • How much control did the employer assert over daily work?
  • Did the worker wear a company uniform?
  • Did the worker use the company’s tools and equipment?
  • Did the worker have the ability to work for other companies or competitors?
  • How much independence did the worker have in performing duties?
• They Try to Blame the Deceased Individual for the Accident – Another common tactic is to blame someone who died. The dead person has no ability to defend himself or herself and cannot testify. The insurance company will try to bring forth other people to testify and raise defenses, all the while knowing the decedent cannot speak up. The problem with this is twofold. First, there are rules of evidence that limit the ability of a witness to testify about what a deceased person said. Second, there are often a host of evidentiary items that can prove the case with or without a decedent’s testimony, such as business records, medical records, videos, and even past conduct. Ultimately a job injury attorney with years of experience handling these types of claims can help to protect you and your family from the tactics employed by insurance carriers who want to avoid paying your claim in full. Contact Gartlan Injury Law today for more information or to schedule a free consultation with an attorney.

A workers’ compensation case is not a lawsuit in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, it is an administrative proceeding brought before the Workers’ Compensation Division of the Alabama Department of Labor. These cases are handled much the same way as a typical civil lawsuit, except that instead of having a jury decide the case, a panel of commissioners will hear all evidence and make a decision.

Here’s what a workplace injury lawyer can do for you in Dothan, AL.

Ensure Timely Medical Care

After a workplace injury, your employer (through their insurance carrier) will actually have a right to insist that you go to one of their doctors. Much like your health insurance plan, these doctors have agreed to offer steep reductions in their rates, in order to have insurance carriers refer patients to them. Perhaps a more skeptical view is that these doctors will return favorable reports that diminish the value of claims. Whatever the case may be, you do generally have a right to contest these doctors’ claims. Having an attorney represent you will ensure that if the employer’s doctors are trying to actively hurt your case, you have someone who can help you find a suitable second opinion to counter these potentially biased findings.

Preserve Evidence

In a workers’ compensation case, you are required to notify your employer in a timely fashion. But once this is done, you can fairly assume the employer and their insurance carrier are going to look for evidence against your claim. It only stands to reason you should have someone gathering evidence that can help you.

Alleviate Stress

Maybe less of a “legal” reason and more of a “common sense” reason for hiring a lawyer is that this takes pressure off you and your family. The last thing you want to do while recovering in a hospital or rehabilitation center is talk to aggressive or even hostile insurance adjusters. Let your work injury attorney do this for you instead.

Trained Litigation and Negotiations

The workers’ compensation system was originally established to be non-adversarial, so that injured workers could be compensated faster without having to go to court or prove negligence. In recent years, however, this has started to shift toward a very adversarial process, through which employers and their insurance companies fight hard to avoid paying even the most obvious claims. By hiring an experienced work injury lawyer, you give yourself a fighting chance.

Who Is Entitled to Workers’ Compensation?

Alabama law strikes a balance between making employers pay for worker injuries and putting limits on the compensation workers can receive.

This is known as workers’ compensation. You generally do not get to sue your employer the same way you could sue someone else for hurting you. However, you are also not required to prove that your employer was at fault for the accident. Instead, you simply must prove that you were injured in the performance of your work duties.
This can get a little more complicated than it should be, however. There are also a number of specific exceptions when an employee may not be entitled to compensation, such as:

• Employee’s willful misconduct
• When it is an intentional and personal act (fights between coworkers based on something that happened outside of work)
• Intentional self-harm
• Employee impaired by drugs or alcohol
• Employee failing to follow safety rules or laws

These are just a short list of the types of disqualifiers that may exist. Of course, you should always talk to an attorney about your specific case to be sure.

When Are You Entitled to More Than Workers’ Compensation?

There are times when a third party (someone other than you or your employer) is responsible for a workplace accident. Some examples may include:

• A car accident caused by a negligent driver
• An injury caused by a subcontractor or different contractor company
• A defective device made by another company

When some third party is responsible, you may actually have two separate cases – one against your employer for workers’ compensation benefits and one against the at-fault party for negligence.