Bradenton Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Workers’ compensation is a crucial aid to all injured employees who suffered a workplace accident. If you have been injured at work and are seeking compensation, call the experienced Bradenton workers’ compensation lawyers today and learn how to receive these vital benefits.

The Difference Between Workers’ Compensation and a Personal Injury Tort

Dealing with an injury is always difficult. When you get injured by another person’s negligent actions, you have the opportunity to file a personal injury lawsuit. When you get injured on the job, you can receive workers’ compensation benefits. Each comes with its own advantages as well as disadvantages. For example, in a personal injury claim, you can sue for pain and suffering, which often amounts to a large percentage of the overall damages. But personal injury lawsuits and settlements take a long time and are riddled with delays. Workers’ compensation is a resource that can be used at once to pay for medical appointments and up to two thirds of your wages while you take time off work. However, as an injured worker, you cannot collect pain and suffering or disfigurement damages. And, as an injured employee, you do not have the option to sue your employer unless you can prove that they either did something intentionally to injure you or if their actions were egregious. While workers’ compensation definitely has its advantages in terms of moving along swiftly, it is rarely easy to procure. An experienced workers’ compensation lawyer is always beneficial in order to receive the benefits that you are owed in a timely manner. According to the Claims Journal, 23 percent of injured workers in Florida hire lawyers to procure workers’ compensation, the fifth highest percentage in the country. Workers are twice as likely to hire an lawyer when their job security is threatened by their injury.

Complications of Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ compensation reform has also added plenty of difficulties and setbacks to the workers’ compensation system in Florida. For example, an insurer can claim that a pre-existing condition has added to the injury, and force the injured employee to pay for up to 49 percent of their medical costs even when the work accident was the primary cause of the injury, according to ProPublica. An employer will also take every opportunity to deny an employee’s claim in order to keep their premiums low, and their insurance provider will do the same to keep their profits as high as possible. You may be denied because your employer or their insurance company:

• Does not believe that you were injured at work;
• Does not believe that your injury is severe;
• Believes that you are not injured at all;
• Believes that you were intoxicated or had illegal drugs in your system at the time of the accident;
• Claims that you did not report the injury in time;
• Claims that the injury was a pre-existing condition; and
• Fires you after you get injured so they do not have to pay for your medical bills, which is unlawful.

Call the Bradenton Workers Compensaion Lawyers at The Pendas Law Firm

If you were injured on the job, contact one of our Bradenton workers’ compensation lawyers with the Pendas Law Firm today. We will help you recover the compensation that you deserve.