Workers’ Compensation FAQs

You should immediately get any emergency medical treatment that you need. And report the accident and injury to your employer as soon as possible. Make sure an accident report is completed, and that you get a copy of the report. Go to the emergency room if needed. Make sure you give an honest and accurate medical history.

And you should call a workers’ compensation lawyer.

Why call a lawyer?

Multiple kinds of financial benefits are available to Louisiana workers who are injured on the job, including weekly lost wages payments and coverage for medical treatment.

But employers and the insurance companies will often try to give you less than you’re entitled to receive.

A lawyer protects your rights in this process because he or she knows the rules of the game.

And the first steps you take after your injury can make a big difference in how much you get later, so talking to a lawyer early is important. No matter the injury, a workers comp lawyer can help you. Some injuries may require specific medical attention such as back & spine injuries, shoulder injuries, and knee injuries at work.

Have you ever heard the famous line from Shakespeare’s Henry VI? “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”

The man who said it wanted to be king, and he knew that good lawyers know the law and fight to protect the rights of the people.

Without lawyers to protect them, the people would be defenseless against him and his greedy plans. You can’t let employers and insurance companies think that they are kings.

As soon as possible after you’re hurt at work, you should tell your employer about it.

Your employer is then supposed to file the forms to officially report your workers’ comp claim and get it started with the insurance company.

Sometimes, however, employers fail to follow through. So you have to stay on top of making sure your claim has really started.

Workers’ compensation lawyers at Workers’ Compensation, LLC, can help you make sure your claim is up and running. Time is of the essence.

One of the first steps you should take after getting hurt on the job should be talking to a lawyer.

That’s because employers and their insurance companies immediately start using tactics to reduce what they have to pay you, such as:

• Failing to officially start your insurance claim
• Miscalculating your Average Weekly Wage (AWW) and underpaying your weekly benefits
• Asking you to give a statement in which you may say something that hurts your claim
• Sending you to a company doctor, instead of a doctor you get to choose who puts the priority on your needs
• Having a nurse who works for them sit in on your doctor appointment, looking for reasons to reject your benefits
• Rejecting you based on a flawed drug test

Having a lawyer stops the system from shortchanging you. At Workers’ Compensation, LLC, Workers’ Comp Is What We Do.

Workers’ comp benefits include:

Payment for a portion of the wages you’re missing if you can’t work

Money to supplement your paychecks if you have to return to work at reduced pay because of your injury

Coverage for the medical care you need as a result of your injury

Reimbursement for other expenses related to your recovery

Death benefits if you lost a loved one to a workplace accident

Guidance on returning to work (as long as case workers don’t push you back to work prematurely)

Your medical care should begin immediately after your job injury, and you shouldn’t have to pay for it.

Payment for lost wages if you can’t work should begin two weeks after your injury.

The whole idea of workers’ compensation is to get you financial help fast when you’re hurt at work, instead of requiring you to file a lawsuit and wait for the legal process to unfold.

Employers and workers’ comp insurance companies, however, sometimes delay or deny your benefits.

The lawyers at Workers’ Compensation, LLC, can help you get what’s fair.

The lost wages portion of your workers’ compensation benefits pays two-thirds of your regular pay or a dollar limit set by the state, whichever is less. And workers’ compensation benefits are tax free.

The limit changes from year to year. The 2020–2021 maximum weekly rate was set at $705.

For some types of benefits, you can get lost wages payments for 10 years. Permanent disabilities could give you longer. Or you could settle your claim.

All of your medical care related to your injury should be paid for. And you should get reimbursement for travel expenses related to medical treatment.

Yes. And you absolutely should.

Your employer and its workers’ compensation insurance carrier will want to send you to a doctor they choose. They have a reason: that doctor may be more interested in protecting your employer’s bottom line than making sure you get all the medical treatment you need.

The help you get under workers’ comp can be much more effective with a doctor you picked yourself.

The workers’ compensation lawyers at Workers’ Compensation, LLC, have worked for many years with doctors in every imaginable specialty and can help you navigate the process of getting the right medical care from day one.

You can.

When your injury means you will be unable to work for a long period, you can qualify for Social Security Disability benefits.

And, when your injury originated at work, you can also get workers’ compensation benefits.

The only twist is that Social Security will reduce the amount you get in disability benefits to offset some of the money you receive from workers’ comp.

After your workers’ comp ends, Social Security will pay your full disability benefit.

The lawyers at Workers’ Compensation, LLC, can assist you in obtaining Social Security Disability benefits also!

Workers’ compensation claims usually settle. But it’s a complicated decision that requires a close look at your individual situation. 

People often get payouts of their workers’ comp claims after they’ve received most of the medical care that they will need for their job injury. After a settlement, you likely won’t be entitled to future medical benefits.

Sometimes, it comes down to deciding when you’re ready to be done with your workers’ comp claim and move on.

You’ll want a workers’ compensation lawyer to help you make an informed decision that safeguards your financial future.

The lawyers at Workers’ Compensation, LLC, have settled many thousands of cases over the years. We’ve recovered in excess of $300 million in workers’ compensation settlements.

We will never pressure you to settle your claim, but we will help you do what’s best for you.

The Workers’ Compensation, LLC, law firm has offices in Metairie, Baton Rouge, the Hammond area, and Monroe, but the attorneys travel the entire state of Louisiana to help injured workers.

You can call us at 504-838-8883.

Or fill out the contact form below.

It’s possible to change jobs while you’re getting workers’ compensation for an injury that happened on your old job—and continue receiving benefits, but not in every situation.

You need to be careful about this decision. You could also have to give up benefits when you start another job, so you may have to determine what’s most important to you: the new job or maintaining your workers’ comp assistance.

Multiple factors go into this. The Louisiana workers’ compensation lawyers at Workers’ Compensation, LLC, can help you sort it out.

We’ve prepared a more detailed look at this question here:

At Workers’ Compensation, LLC, these are some of the injuries we see all the time:

• Neck injuries
• Back and spine injuries
• Knee injuries, including torn ACLs (anterior cruciate ligaments)
• Shoulder injuries, including tears treated with arthroscopic surgery
• Brain injuries