A workplace injury can happen in seconds. If you’re recovering from on-the-job injuries, you may be thinking about workers’ compensation. While workers’ compensation provides much-needed benefits to hurt employees, you may have grounds for a work injury claim. This is when the negligence of a third-party was responsible for your injuries. To maximize your compensation, you need the help of a Cincinnati work injury lawyer.
Bey & Associates, LLC can assist you with your on-the-job injury claim. While the process can be complex, our work injury lawyers have the experience and skill to build a convincing case on your behalf. We’re prepared to fight for you to get the compensation you deserve, whether that comes from reaching a settlement or taking the case to court.
Are Work Injuries Common?
Some industries are more likely to have work injuries than others. Those who work in the following industries may sustain an injury while working:
- Construction.
- Manufacturing.
- Food.
- Health Care.
Construction workers are a prime example of people who may be injured because of third-party negligence. When workers are on a site, there may be other parties there that aren’t employees of the construction company. Other parties could include contractors, subcontractors, and some of the equipment could come from other companies. When any of the people on a jobsite are negligent, they can cause work injuries for themselves and coworkers.
The people in charge of operating heavy machinery need to have the proper training. If someone is negligent while operating the equipment, they could cause irreparable harm to others and themselves. The equipment also has to be safe. Faulty or defective equipment could malfunction when it’s in operation, and the person using the equipment may get hurt. If the injured worker’s accident happened because of a negligent third-party, they can look into pursuing a claim against them.
It’s important to remember that third-party negligence can occur in any workplace. If you don’t work in the industries mentioned above, you should still see one of our Cincinnati work injury lawyers.
What to Do After a Work Injury
When you’re injured on the job, you might not know what your next steps should be. You might be unsure what you should do to ensure you can recover damages for what you’ve suffered, if there’s anything you need to file, or if a work injury attorney can help you. Here’s what you should do after a work injury so that you can maximize the compensation you can receive for the damages you suffered:
- Get Medical Attention. You should immediately seek medical attention so that your injury is on file, you can tell the doctor what happened while it is fresh in your mind, and so that you can begin treatment as soon as possible. The documentation from your injury is crucial because it helps prove what happened, when it happened, that you were on the job when you were injured, and that you sought medical care right away.
- Report the Incident. After you’ve gotten examined and started treatment with a doctor, you’ll need to report the incident to your work and any other entity who handles work injuries and workers’ compensation. Most prominently, you need to report the incident to your direct supervisor within 24 hours of the injury. Otherwise, your claim could be null and void.
- Document What Happened. To help you remember all of the facts later, it’s important to document everything that happened. Take notes, pictures, and get statements from witnesses so that you can have an accurate documentation of what happened.
- Hire a Work Injury Lawyer. After an on the job accident, you’ll need support and guidance through the legal process. You shouldn’t have to go through all of this alone. Our Cincinnati work injury lawyer from Bey & Associates can help you recover the compensation you deserve and build you the strongest case possible.
What Are the Effects of Work Injuries?
Sustaining an injury on the job can have severe consequences. Work injuries not only affect a person’s physical and emotional health, but also can limit their ability to return to work. A worker may suffer one of the following injuries:
- Slip and Fall.
- Traumatic Brain Injury.
- Burn Injury.
- Electrocution.
- Spinal Cord Injuries.
While people are working, they should be in a safe environment or have the safety training and gear to protect themselves. When this isn’t the case, employees can get injuries that can cause complications for the rest of their life. A slip and fall accident may not sound dangerous at first, but if someone falls from a ladder or stairs, the situation becomes more serious. Slip and falls without height as a factor can also cause serious injuries.
If someone hits their head, they could get a traumatic brain injury (TBI). While these range from mild to severe, the person should always seek medical treatment. TBIs can result in mood changes, sleep changes, as well as inhibit the person’s ability to communicate, think, and may also affect motion.
Working around flammable substances can result in burn injuries if someone acts negligently. A burn injury has varying degrees of severity, with the least affecting the top layer of skin and the most reaching the muscle and bone. Skin grafts and surgeries may be necessary, and the person could have permanent scarring and limited range of motion for the rest of their life.
Electrocutions can also cause burns, in addition to seizures and heart problems. When someone gets electrocuted they may have minor injuries or not seem to present symptoms, but they will still need to see a doctor.
A spinal cord injury may result in paralysis. Depending on where the injury occurs, an injury could mean losing motion of the arms, trunk, and legs, or from the waist down.
After a work injury, you should report it and see a doctor as soon as possible to get an assessment of your injuries. You have your injuries on record and can also start treatment as soon as possible. When you’re in the recovery process, it’s important to follow what your doctor says. If you stop treating your injuries and they get worse, you may not be able to recover compensation for them. Failing to see a doctor or follow their orders could give the insurance company an opportunity to question the validity of your claim and they may try to reduce your compensation.
Many of these work injuries can be catastrophic, meaning they prevent the person from performing gainful work. Recovering from these work injuries may require extensive care, now and in the future. Not being able to return to work is a major life change. If you support a family, you may wonder how you’re going to be able to provide if you cannot work. That’s where our Cincinnati work injury lawyers come in.
What Compensation Can I Seek After an Injury on the Job?
When you’ve been injured on the job at the fault of the company or a third-party contractor, it’s likely that you deserve to be compensated for injuries and subsequent damages. There are multiple elements that come into play when it comes to what you can recover after a work injury. Let’s take a look at workers’ compensation, the damages you can recover, and working with denied claims.
Workers’ compensation exists so that you can make a claim after an on-the-job injury. The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation lists what you can recover from your work injury. Through workers’ comp in Ohio, you can recover:
- Temporary Total Compensation. An injured worker can get payment for the temporary period of time that they are fully disabled due to their on-the-job accident or the disease they acquired from their workplace.
- Wage Loss Compensation. Injured workers could be facing wage restrictions or losses from being able to do only limited work or being unable to work at all due to their work injury. They might be unable to find other work as well because of their injuries, which limits their ability to earn wages in the present and future.
- Percentage of Permanent Partial Disability. A worker might have residual impairment from their on-the-job injury, for which they can recover permanent partial disability.
- Permanent Total Disability. The Industrial Commission of Ohio can declare a worker permanently and totally disabled (PTD), which means they are unable to return to their job, and likely are unable to acquire future employment. A worker can recover workers’ comp for being declared PTD.
- Lump Sum. An injured worker incurs other costs when dealing with a work injury and filing a claim. An employer could agree to a lump sum as a settlement to ensure that the worker can cover other costs in their life, like groceries. Having a work injury lawyer in this case is crucial to ensure that you are not settling for less than you deserve.
When you work with an on-the-job injury lawyer, they might help you fight for other damages outside of your workers’ comp claim. Your attorney could help you recover from the other economic and noneconomic damages you suffered from. Your medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering from your workplace injury might fit into your workers’ comp case, but if it doesn’t, your work injury lawyer will figure out how to get you the compensation you deserve for your damages.
Sometimes, a workers’ compensation claim can be denied. Some reasons that you could be denied are that your doctor didn’t think you injuries were severe enough, you were cleared to go back to work, your doctor thinks you’re exaggerating, or your employer doesn’t believe your injury really happened while at work. This can be frustrating because you are trying to recover physically and emotionally from the workplace injury, but also are struggling to recover financially. Your Cincinnati work injury lawyer will help you fight the denial and get you the compensation you deserve.
Differences Between Workers’ Comp and Work Injury
While the two might seem synonymous, workers’ compensation and work injury claims are two separate claims to be filed. What distinguishes the two is one aspect—fault. Let’s take a look at when a workers’ comp claim might benefit you best, or when a work injury claim is in your better interests as an injured employee.
In a workers’ comp claim, you are eligible to recover the economic damages that you suffered as a result of your injury while on the job. These damages would include costs from medical bills, missed wages, and other financial hits you took from the injury. Filing for workers’ comp is your best option when the injury you suffered was partly or entirely your fault. Workers’ comp does not take fault into account, so you could still recover damages even if your own negligence was the reason you got hurt.
If the injury wasn’t your fault, though, and was the fault of your employer or a third-party contractor, then a personal injury claim would benefit you more. Through a personal injury claim, which would be filed with the help of a work injury lawyer, you would be able to prove that your employer’s negligence was what caused your on-the-job injury and recover damages for your suffering.
Since you’re proving fault from negligence, you’d also be able to recover noneconomic damages from a personal injury claim. By working with your on-the-job injury attorney, you’d be able to recover compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and other factors that weren’t a financial cost of your injury but were an emotional toll that you suffered.
If you still have questions about whether a claim through workers’ comp or work injury would benefit you more, then you should speak with one of our Cincinnati work injury lawyers. With our experience, we’ll be able to answer all your questions and help you decide what would be best for you.
Seek Legal Options From Your Work Injury Lawyer
We’ll do everything possible to get you the compensation you need. You shouldn’t have to shoulder this financial burden all by yourself. With our attorneys in Cincinnati by your side, you’ll get the financial peace of mind you deserve. You won’t have to worry about how you’re going to afford your medical bills or continue to keep up with other expenses.
Get in touch with our office today to set up an obligation-free consultation. We’ll discuss your case, answer your questions, and talk about your options. Then, you can start to move forward with the legal process.
