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Injured at Work? Know Your Legal Rights

Sometimes when you’re at work, unfortunate accidents might occur that can result in severe injury. Even though it might not have been anyone’s fault, you need to begin the process of getting compensated for what happened to you. It can be a difficult process for everyone involved, including the victims’ families. But you must know your legal rights so you can get the settlement that you deserve.

Medical Assistance

This is the first thing that you should focus on. You have every right to seek medical help anywhere you want and you can refuse to head to the nearest hospital if you believe that there are better ones available. However, if your injuries are severe, then you should consider it before your condition becomes worse. You could be transferred later if you want, when the doctors have controlled your situation in the emergency room.

Coverage For Medical Bills

This is extremely important, and you should know that your rights include getting reimbursements for every medical bill, prescription drug, treatment plan, and other bills related to the hospital and the days or weeks you’ve spent there. Remember to ask your doctors for detailed reports on everything, including records of billing receipts, timings, medication names and prices, and the recommended course of action needed for your treatment. This information will be needed and used later to help with your case when you file for a claim.

Getting Legal Representation 

You have the right to an attorney whenever you’ve experienced something awful such as a work-related injury. You will need the best representation to help make the process better and faster. The personal injury lawyers at the Guajardo Marks LLP believe that every victim needs an aggressive advocate following a severe injury -having the right people that can defend you and help you protect your rights to get exactly what you deserve within the confines of the law. This includes gathering evidence, building your case, speaking on your behalf to your employer, insurance companies, or in court, and giving you the right advice to help ensure the best possible outcome for you.

Rehabilitation Time

Depending on the extent of your injuries, you’ll have the right to get reimbursements for every bill related to your rehabilitation and the time it took for you to recover and feel better again. Depending on your response time to the treatment, you might never be the same again, but you can get slightly better through the rehabilitation regiment and exercises that are meant to get you back on your feet.

Disability Settlements 

If the accident led to injuries that caused you to become disabled, then you have the right to get a monetary settlement to cover for that. This includes any accessibility tools, prosthetics, and anything you need to make your new lifestyle easier and more manageable. You might need a handicap-friendly vehicle, changes or upgrades to be installed in your home, and more that could cost you a lot of money. But you can get it all back through your claim or at court.

Loss of Paychecks 

Sometimes the victims won’t be able to go back to work or continue to earn their monthly income. If that happens and your company/employer doesn’t have a workers’ compensation policy that can cover this, then you have the right to ask for monetary compensation to make up for every month you spent at home not working. This is important because it wasn’t your fault that you got injured and it happened when you were doing something on the job and for the company. It’s your right to get the money that you could have done if you hadn’t had an accident.

Refusing a Deal

Not a lot of people know this because they are either too scared or ignorant to understand, but you have every right to say no to any deal or claim that you deem unfair or ridiculous. Sometimes the insurance companies and the employers give you deals that don’t even cover half of your medical bills. Some people are too gullible and naive, thinking that this would be enough. But that’s not true at all and you should fight to get a deal or settlement that can fully cover everything you’ve gone through. Try to consult with your lawyer on the different deals that people might offer you. It’s recommended that you don’t sign or agree to anything without your attorney’s consent.

Suing Your Employer

Some people might get their settlements or their claim from the workers’ compensation, but when the situation is too severe and you know that something is terribly wrong, then you can start the process of taking legal action against your employer. When circumstances are evident and clear that your employer either caused the accident on purpose, or had you do a part of a task that wasn’t in your job description, or didn’t give you enough/proper training to do it, then you can sue your employer and get everything you’re legally entitled to.

Always Protect Your Rights

Every victim should always take the necessary steps to protect their legal rights. This means that you should always act swiftly in reporting the accident to your employer or the HR department at work, get all the medical help you need, gather every single important piece of evidence that can support your case, avoid any limitations that could hinder your chances of getting a better claim, and never have your employer or insurance company record your statement or have you agree to something in writing without knowing the full extent of it first. 

A lot of people tend to be ignorant and don’t ask questions to know more about their rights. This gives different employers and insurance companies the upper hand and gives you deals that aren’t enough to cover everything or compensate you properly. When people know every detail about what they’re legally entitled to in the event of a terrible work-related accident, then they will know just how good of a settlement they’ll need to reimburse them for all of the mental suffering and physical injuries they’ve sustained.

 

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