I am a workers compensation attorney and have been for over 15 years. I specialize in representing people who have been injured on the job. I do not represent any insurance companies.
Many people do not know what a workers compensation attorney does. They may have seen TV attorneys discuss workers compensation and case settlements in commercials.
The information in these advertisements can be confusing. This article is an attempt to give you some real insight into what I and other workers’ compensation attorneys do.
Provide guidance and advice to our clients
Provide guidance and advice to our clientsMy most important job is advising my clients. From the moment they contact me for a consultation until the very end of their case, I give them advice. I use my legal training and experience to help them make difficult choices.
Injured workers have many choices to make. All of these choices affect their recovery from their injury. Here are just a few of the choices that injured workers face in a workers compensation case:
- Should they choose this doctor or that doctor off the panel of physicians?
- Should they have surgery or not?
- Should they go to court or settle their case?
I want my clients to have all the information they need to make the best possible decisions. Sometimes, the choice is purely a legal question like should I file an appeal. Other times, the choice is not a legal issue like when my clients need to decide whether they are going to have surgery or not.
I advise my clients about what I know. When an area is outside of my expertise, I try to direct them to good experts to provide advice.
For example, I would direct a client with questions about whether to have surgery to ask the doctor who is a trained medical expert. However, I would also try to provide that client with some guidance of what questions and concerns they should discuss with the doctor.
My clients are the decision makers. It is their case and their life. It is my job to give good advice to them. I then do everything I can to help them get the best results.
Fight for our clients in court
Fight for our clients in courtCertainly, this is one of my most important roles. Insurance companies often do not pay the benefits they should. Being a workers compensation attorney allows me to request hearings and take insurance companies to court to make sure my clients receive the benefits they should.
Going to court involves more than just the actual trial of the case. Here are a few of the things that I do to get to court:
- Prepare and file Form WC-14s to request hearings.
- Send and answer written discovery
- File motions
- Take depositions
- Develop the medical and other evidence necessary to prove my client’s case
- Prepare with witnesses before the hearing
Many workers compensation cases do not ever go to court. But going to court is one of the most important rights you have. A judge can make the insurance company follow the law when they are refusing to do so voluntarily.
Interact with doctors, adjuster, attorneys, and other to get my clients the medical treatment they need
Going to court is a very important right. But, there are some situations where it is much better to get benefits without going to court. A workers compensation attorney needs to have the skills to work with adjusters, other attorneys, and doctors to get things done.
The main reason this skill is important is that it takes a long time to go to court and get a decision. Waiting for benefits is very difficult for my clients.
If the same result can be accomplished without going to court, that really benefits my clients. So, I work with doctors, adjuster and other attorneys to get my clients their benefits.
Unfortunately, Georgia does not have a very good workers compensation medical system currently. Because of that, much of my time is spent getting my clients the medical treatment they need.
Sometimes, the information just has to be provided to the adjuster or the doctor’s office in a certain format. Other times, I have to persuade the other attorney or adjuster to approve medical treatment. As an attorney who specializes in Georgia workers compensation law, I can often provide the information that is needed to get benefits paid without going to court.
Counsel our clients
Dealing with a serious injury is very difficult. As a result, injured workers often experience many stressors. Here are just a few of the stressors they face:
- Pain from the injury.
- Financial stress since workers’ compensation only pays you two-thirds or less of what you used to make.
- Anxiety or depression from being unable to work and potentially ending up with permanent limitations on what you can do
- Dealing with Georgia’s workers’ compensation law which is stacked against you in many ways
I do what I can to help my clients with these stressors. Unfortunately though, there are some things I cannot change. Sometimes, even the best doctors cannot get you completely well after a serious injury.
In these situations, I am a counselor to my clients. I listen to what they say. I try to figure out how I can help.
Sometimes, I have to give them difficult news. That is part of my job. I would rather tell someone a difficult truth than tell them everything is going to be great if it is really not. Of course, I also work as hard as I can to fight for them.
I hope this little bit of insight into some of the things that a workers compensation attorney does has been interesting and informative.
