If You Get Hurt On The Job Do You Need An Attorney?

Perception is Reality

How an employee is perceived by management, and the company in general, sometimes plays a role in how the employee will be treated in his or her workers’ compensation case.  Right or wrong, the perception of the injured worker, and the level of dedication, or lack thereof, they bring to the job can affect whether the case is accepted or denied, how quickly medical treatment is authorized, and whether the employee will ultimately return to the job, or be terminated.  The employee that shows up every day, works hard at what he or she does, and does not cause any morale, or discipline problems will often be treated better by the workers’ compensation carrier which is getting its’ information from the employer.

Of course, the one absolute is that there are no absolutes.  We also hear from twenty year employees of businesses that are fired the same day after getting hurt on the job.  Some companies make it an unfortunate part of their business practice to deny workers’ compensation claims that they should have accepted.  So, the same perception is reality rule also applies to this situation.  If you work at a company where everyone that gets hurt on the job gets fired, and their case get denied, it stands to reason that will happen to you if you get hurt on the job no matter how good of a worker you are, and how long you have been there!  In this case, the reality is that you are going to need an attorney.

Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys certified in North Carolina and South Carolina, who focus on workers' compensation and automobile accidents.  Call us toll-free at 877-872-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

Can You File For Workers’ Compensation If You Are In a Car Accident On The Job?

Automobile Accidents on the Job

We get lots of calls from injured workers who are in an automobile accident on the job, wondering if they have a workers’ compensation case, or not.  The confusion lies in the set of facts where the worker has completed the job at the work site, and is on the way back to the company office, or terminal to drop off the work truck when the accident happens.  If the accident happens in the company work truck on the way back to the company office, this is a compensable workers’ compensation case.  If you are the driver of the truck, and as part of your job duties you pick up other employees, and drop them off at their houses, and an accident occurs, this too is a compensable workers’ compensation case.

We have heard of supervisors telling injured workers that because they had left the work site that it wasn’t workers’ compensation, which is simply not true.  A lot of times workers that are injured in auto accidents on the job are worried about filing a claim because they are afraid they are going to lose their jobs.  The law says that in an automobile accident on the job that the employer, or their workers’ compensation carrier, must pay for medical care, time out of work under the law’s guidelines, and permanent disability.  With liens being filed by more and more hospitals, the last thing an injured worker needs to worry about is getting stuck with an expensive hospital bill that is not paid in full! 

If you have been hurt in an automobile accident on the job, you will get an opinion on what you should do from your supervisor, friends, and family.  You need to protect yourself, and the first step in that is calling us! Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys certified in North Carolina and South Carolina, who focus on workers' compensation and automobile accidents.  Call us toll-free at 877-872-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!