Most times when people are injured at work they never think twice about responsibility for the injury. In most cases, the injured employee is happy the company pays their medical bills, lost wages and associated expenses. Most would never even consider filing legal action against their employer, mainly for fear of losing their job, but most may believe the accident was partly their fault.
However, there are times when dealing with an employer's insurance company, mainly a state industrial commission or a bureau of Worker's Compensation, filing a suit against the company may be necessary to get someone's attention to pay bills that may have been denied. Many state controlled compensation agencies require the injured worked to be seen by a state-approved doctor to be evaluated for their injuries as well as their ability to return to work.
Workers do have the legal right to be seen by the doctor of their choice, but in most instances the word of the state, or company doctor determines whether they are considered too hurt to perform their job duty. They will also decide whether they can return to work performing a lighter type of job duty and whether certain medical tests and procedures ordered by their own physician are necessary.
When the person's private healthcare provider and the company doctor fail to disagree on the condition of the patient and the extent of the injuries is when the employee will need the services of the worker's compensation lawyer. Additionally, it is a violation of federal law, as well as many state laws to fire an employee due to an injury. Many companies attempt an end run around these laws and once the employee is back on the job will attempt to let them go for any number of reasons unrelated to on the job safety.
In some cases there may be long-lasting affects of a job related accident, such as a burn that scars the person for life. In many states worker's compensation will settle claims for disfigurement based on the percentage of the body that is permanently disfigured. The amount payable for a partial permanent disfigurement may be different from state to state and in most cases, once the person accepts the settlement their ability to collect for future damages is over.
Before accepting any type of settlement from a state-run worker's compensation agency, you may want to find an injury lawyer to make sure you have received all compensation to which you are entitled under the laws of the state in which the accident happened. You should also be aware that if it can be shown that the cause of the accident has been reported previously as a danger to any agency governing workplace safety there may be other actions available.
For example, if the company had previously been cited for safety violations and ordered to make modifications to equipment or environment and failed to do so, causing your injuries, you may also be entitled to punitive damages for their negligence. This will be in addition to any fines leveled by state and federal safety agencies.
