Workers Compensation Attorney: Protect Your Business
Many business owners believe they don’t need a workers’ compensation attorney. Your small business might be flourishing – you’re profitable, and you have a stellar staff. But then one of your employees unexpectedly slips and falls at work, injuring their back.
You take them to the hospital, give them time off work, and even offer to pay their medical bills. But the person is permanently injured and can’t return to work, and you are hit with a lawsuit.
Without a proper workers’ compensation plan in place – or an experienced workers’ compensation attorney on your side — this can put your entire business at risk.
Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Investigate Claims
We all like to think our employees are honest people who only want the best for our companies. But that’s not always the case. Individuals can enhance how injuries occurred, as well as the extent of them.
An experienced workers’ compensation attorney can help you fully investigate the claim. Your lawyer can help you gather evidence as to how the injury occurred, make sure any witnesses are interviewed and take written statements.
Your attorney will also guide you on what medical records you need to collect from employees to prove the extent of the injury and the prognosis. This information can be vital in a lawsuit – especially if it helps demonstrate how the injury occurred.
Train Your Team
A workers’ compensation attorney can also work with you to ensure you have the right procedures in place to properly train your team on what to do if an injury occurs. Included in the process will be what forms need to be filled out by the injured employee, who needs to sign off on them, and how to take a witness statement.
It’s also essential that your team gets the injured worker medical attention as soon as possible. Failure to assist the employee can violate workers’ compensation regulations and can cost you and your business later.
Watch For Signs of Fraud
Unfortunately, workers’ compensation fraud can occur. An attorney can help you look for signs before it costs you your business. Some flags a workers’ compensation attorney might look for can include if there are no witnesses to the employee’s injury. They may also find it suspicious if the only witness was a friend or relative of the injured worker.
A workers’ compensation attorney will also look closely at the employee’s account of the accident and review for inconsistencies. Can they recite the details of the accident accurately? Did anything change when they retold the story?
Also, an attorney will look into why a worker refused medical attention — if this is the case. If they do not want to undergo treatment or testing to prove the extent of the injury, it can raise a flag that they are lying about how the injury occurred. While you might trust your employee and not think anything of it, as you have a personal relationship with him or her, a workers’ compensation attorney is trained to look for these inconsistencies.
Ensure You’re Insured
When an injury occurs at your workplace, you must have a workers’ compensation insurance plan in place. Your workers’ compensation attorney can review your policy to make sure you have adequate coverage. Your attorney can also help you file any claims with your provider if an incident takes place.
Why Hire Us
When you need a workers’ compensation attorney, let the experts at Johnstone Adams LLC represent you. Ranked in the 2022 U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” list regionally in 12 practice areas, we have experts in many areas of law to give our clients top-notch representation. In business for more than a century, our firm can mix its experience with the ability to evolve with the changing times.
To get started, contact us at 844-682-7682 or info@johnstoneadams.com .
