After you are injured at work, the first thing that’s probably going through your mind is that you are scared. You just got hurt, and you realize that because of your injury, your livelihood is going to take a hit. But even if the injury is severe, people are often most worried about losing their jobs. Maybe you have seen six other people that have been hurt at work and now all those people aren’t there anymore, so you get nervous about the consequences of hiring an attorney. You may be afraid that doing so will cause you to lose your job or be looked at as the complainer, but while these are valid fears, you need to watch out for yourself.
If you’ve suffered an injury and you think there’s going to be time that you’re going to miss from work and you think you’re going to have to be receiving some significant medical care, the earlier an attorney gets involved, the more they can protect your rights. Often, when employees try to play by the rules, and see an employer-approved doctor without the help of an attorney, they get released before they are ready. When this happens, employees are often left with pain and suffering that requires them to continue to miss work, and it’s often at this point that an attorney is considered. When an attorney is hired at this point, they will be working to undo what has already been done, which is a much harder task.
An attorney can’t control what doctors you go to or what treatment you get, but if a referral is made to a specialist or if a doctor has you on restrictions, then an attorney will make sure that the benefits are paid and the referrals are honored.
If you’ve been injured at work and are considering hiring an attorney to help you process a worker’s comp claim, contact Stewart & Stewart. Give us a call at 1-800-33-33-LAW or visit our website for more information.