fbpx

Workers Compensation Settlements: How Do They Work and What Can You Expect?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently that more than 2.5 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses occurred in the US. This means for every 100 full-time workers, three of them were injured and eligible for workers compensation. In Florida, the average workers compensation settlement is roughly $18,000.

What a lot of these injured workers learned through the process is this… they don’t have to accept their employer’s worker’s comp offer if that offer doesn’t meet their ongoing medical needs.

You can read more here on how worker’s compensation settlements work and what you can expect in the process.

Worker’s Compensation Defined

Worker’s compensation covers workers injured on the job site. Under the law in most states, every business must have some form of workers’ compensation insurance to cover injured employees. Current worker’s compensation laws prohibit companies from operating until they obtain this kind of insurance.

In recent years, federal and state workers’ compensation laws covered over 135 million workers. The total wages paid to these covered employees was more than seven trillion dollars.

First Steps in the Workers Comp Claim Process

Since every state has its own group of laws, it’s easy to get confused about how the system works. Each workers comp law, however, contains a basic form of these important routine steps:

1. Report Your Injury to Your Employer

Make sure you alert your employer about your injury either over the phone or in writing. Check to see if your employer has special procedures in place for reporting these kinds of injuries.

You must report your injury no later than 30 days after you are aware of your job-related injury. If you don’t file workers comp within this time frame, your claim can be denied.

2. Contact a Workers Comp Attorney

Often called an accident lawyer or personal injury attorney, a workers comp attorney represents injured victims who need help proving their injuries occurred on the job.

3. File Your Formal Workers Compensation Claim

Some employers may give you all of the official claim forms you need to submit your claim. Other employers may file your claim with their insurer for you. Once you have the necessary forms, be sure to list the following details on your workers comp claim forms:

  • Types of injury and the damaged areas of your body
  • Day, time, and address where your injury took place
  • Any other witnesses involved in the injury
  • How the accident happened and
  • All medical treatments received to date.

Once your claim is reviewed, an insurance representative will notify you to tell you if your claim has been approved and for what amount.

Claim Review

Your employer has seven (7) days from the time you notify them of your injury to contact their insurance provider. The insurance carrier will then decide how much you should receive. The carriers review of your claim may include:

  • Assessing your medical records
  • Researching your work experience, education, and wages
  • Requesting a medical examination with their appointed physician to evaluate your condition, and
  • Requesting you to perform a functional capacity evaluation that tests your abilities to perform your expected job duties.

The injured party can decide, at this point to accept the insurance company’s offer or try to negotiate a settlement.

What are Workers Compensation Settlements?

Accepting a settlement effectively “ends” a claimant’s rights to future review and consideration of their case. That’s why its important that injured parties considering a settlement should have firm estimates for their costs. These estimates should include current medical costs as well as any they may incur in the future due to delayed onset injuries caused by their original injury.

Types of Settlements

There are two main types of workers compensation settlement agreements.

Lump-Sum/Commutation

Lump-sum settlements are payouts in a single, large payment.

If a lump sum settlement is reached, the injured worker terminates their future rights to benefits that stem from the current injury.

Structured

Structured settlements provide injured workers with payments over an agreed-upon length of time into the future. With a structured settlement, injured parties keep their future rights to reopen their workers comp claim.

Types of Workers Comp Benefits

Injured employees are entitled to these following types of benefits:

** Medical Treatment

** Temporary Disability

** Permanent Disability

** Vocational Rehabilitation

Advantages to Accepting Settlements

There are some benefits to negotiating a workers comp claim settlement. If you decide to litigate your claim because your employer’s offer doesn’t seem fair, you’ll have to endure the expensive and long court process for a judge to hear your case. Chances are that a judge might decide you deserve less than what your employer originally offered you.

Some settlement offers may include money for the medical care you may never need. Your employer may agree to provide lump sums for potential delayed onset injuries that might occur in the future. If those injuries never materialize, you still have the funds to defray other expenses.

Disadvantages of Accepting Settlements

Certain amounts from both lump sum and structured settlements are subject to taxation. These amounts include attorney’s fees as well as other damages. If you aren’t aware of what these tax levels are, your agreed-upon settlement amount could be lower than expected.

Next Steps

Thinking about negotiating with your employer over your recent workplace injury? If so, you’ll need the skill level of a workers comp attorney who can guide you through the process. Studies show that injured workers represented by workers comp attorneys receive 30 percent more for their workers compensation settlements than their counterparts who try to negotiate on their own.

My practice is dedicated to helping accident victims. If you ever need help with a Workers Comp case or any legal issue, call 904 LAW-1212 anytime, day or night.

There’s Never a Fee Unless We Get Money For You

Menu
Font Resize