Fall River Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Home » Fall River, MA Personal Injury Lawyer » Fall River Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Workplace injuries are relatively common, but serious injuries or illnesses might prevent you from returning to work. In such instances, a Workers’ Compensation claim might help you recover valuable financial benefits to help you during recovery.

Workers’ Compensation benefits may be temporary and cover people with total disabilities who cannot work, or those with partial disabilities who can do less work than before their accident. It might also be permanent and last indefinitely. To begin a claim, you must report your injuries to your employer, your employer should notify the insurer, and the insurer will approve or deny your claim. Eligibility is often based on how your injuries occurred and how long you have been unable to work. While Workers’ Compensation tends to be applied broadly, certain cases might be excluded. If you need to file a Workers’ Compensation claim, notify your employer immediately and begin documenting each day you miss work because of your injuries.

Arrange for a free review of your case with our Workers’ Compensation lawyers by calling the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407.

Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Injured Employers in Fall River

Workers’ Compensation may cover medical costs and a portion of lost wages. While this sounds fairly simple and straightforward, there are several different ways in which Workers’ Compensation might apply to your case.

Medical benefits tend to apply to all injured workers and often cover any reasonably necessary medical care. For the most part, our Workers’ Compensation attorneys can help you apply for medical benefits as soon as you are billed for your treatment. If your treatment is ongoing, we must make sure future medical costs are covered too.

Benefits for lost wages may be temporary or permanent. Temporary benefits may cover total disability, meaning you cannot work at all, or partial disability, earning you can perform some work but less than from before your injuries.

Temporary total disability benefits include 60% of your average weekly wage from the 52 weeks prior to your accident, with the maximum benefits capped at the state’s average weekly wage. Temporary total benefits may last for up to 156 weeks.

Temporary partial disability benefits apply if you can still work, but only in a position where you earn less money (e.g., part-time instead of full-time). The maximum weekly benefits include 75% of the benefits you would receive for temporary total disability, and you may receive payments for up to 260 weeks.

Permanent benefits apply in cases where someone is permanently and totally incapacitated and unable to return to work. You may receive up to 66% of your gross average weekly income for as long as your disability persists. Many people collect these benefits indefinitely.

How to Submit a Workers’ Compensation Claim in Fall River

Submitting a Workers’ Compensation claim might be complicated, and you should speak to a lawyer before getting started. Typically, injured workers should report their injuries to their employers as soon as possible. Doing so immediately will create a documented record of when your injuries occurred. The employer should then report the injuries to their insurer, who will make a decision about whether to approve a Workers’ Compensation claim.

In many cases, insurers deny claims because of mistakes made during the filing process. Perhaps your employer did not report your injuries accurately. It is also possible that key pieces of information were misreported or left out entirely. Your attorney can help you challenge a denial of your claims and hopefully get the decision reversed. Better yet, your lawyer can help you make sure your claims are submitted correctly so you do not encounter any roadblocks.

Eligibility for Workers’ Compensation in Fall River

Before filing for Workers’ Compensation, you should meet with an attorney to determine eligibility. While Workers’ Compensation may apply to a wide variety of accidents and injuries, claimants must still meet certain criteria before they are eligible for benefits.

Eligible Cases

Generally, Workers’ Compensation covers most injuries caused by on-the-job accidents. Fault is usually not an issue, and claimants may be responsible for their own accidents and still be eligible for Workers’ Compensation.

While medical benefits may be claimed shortly after receiving treatment, there may be a brief waiting period before you become eligible to receive benefits for lost wages. You become eligible for these benefits if your injuries prevent you from working for 6 days after the accident. These days of missed work do not have to be consecutive, and they do not have to be full days. Missing a partial day of work because of your injuries will still count toward the 6-day requirement.

Ineligible Cases

Workers’ Compensation typically does not cover injuries that were inflicted intentionally. This might come up in cases where an employer causes their employee of purposefully hurting themselves or allowing themselves to become injured so that they can collect pay without working. This is sometimes a bogus accusation sued by employers so they can try and get out of filing a claim. It might also apply in cases where someone else at work, like your boss or a coworker, assaulted you. In that case, you can sue the person responsible for your injuries.

Whether a case is ineligible often comes down to where the accident happened. Many accidents that happen away from company property or normal work locations are not covered. However, many employees travel for work or find themselves fulfilling job functions away from the office on a regular basis. In those instances, an attorney can help you argue for fair Workers’ Compensation.

Another gray area involves accidents when employees are commuting. Generally, accidents during your daily commute are not covered. Again, employees who travel for their job might be an exception to this restriction, and you should speak to your attorney about it immediately.