After suffering an injury while at work, the only thing that you should be concerned about is recovering. However, it can also be impossible for you to focus on your recovery if you constantly think about the cost of medical bills, financial hardship, lost wages because you are out of work and more. This is why there is something called workers compensation law as it is designed or made to help provide workers with indirect or direct relief if they end up sustaining an injury while at work. Will i get a settlement from workers comp? Find out here.
What you get on workers compensation settlements and claims depends from one individual to another. However, there are some guidelines that would help you with the entire process and if you are still wondering if you can get a workers comp settlement then here is all what you should know.
Will I Get A Settlement From Workers Comp
For you to qualify getting settlement from workers compensation, the first thing that you must do is for you to become a member of a company and this should company must have workers compensation insurance. Consultants, freelancers are contractors are not eligible for these benefits and the injury or illness has to be related to the job for you to get workers compensation. The settlements you would get from workers compensation would cover future medical bills, benefits on permanent disability and benefits on temporary disability.
We also have two main types of settlement arrangements and they include compromise and release and the stipulation and award types. The stipulation and award compensation are the ones that get paid over a period of years or weeks and the insurance company also agrees to meeting up with medical bills that might arise in the future. This isn’t the same with the compromise and release as it involves paying a lump sum amount which settles and ends the case with no option of reopening in the future.
This type of settlement also depends on how severe the injury suffered is, if it is a permanent or temporary one and also some other key considerations as well. I know by now you would be thinking how much the average the workers compensation settlement might be and what we want you to know is the workers compensation settlement is capable of being anywhere around few hundreds of dollars to a whooping ten million dollars. However, the average workers compensation settlement is about twenty one thousand dollars.
The average workers compensation settlement amount is likely to increase depending on how severe the injury suffered might be and some of the factors capable of driving up that amount includes;
Instead of accepting the initial offer, you hold out for a better settlement
Going on to file an appeal after getting an initial offer
Getting a legal lawyer who would offer you the best strategy and advice to work with
Do All Workers Comp Cases Ends In Settlement?
It is not possible for all workers compensation cases to end in a settlement but a good number of cases, about seventy five percent of these cases are likely to end up in a settlement. If there are cases where there are disabilities or death then a payout is what seems to be the best option but in some cases that tend to be a bit complicated, it would involve the hearing of the case by a judge who goes on to decide what the compensation would be or contain.
There are few things that you can also go to make sure you get the best out of any workers compensation settlement case and they include;
Reporting the injury immediately to your employer the moment it happens because a delay in filing a claim can lead to denial of your claim
Ensure that you seek medical treatment immediately as well
Do not abandon the treatment plan that your doctor has put you on
Do not tell lies or exaggerate your injury
Make sure you meet up with scheduled legal meetings and proceedings
Hire the services of a lawyer that would help you with the best legal advice
One key thing you should have at the back of your mind is that settlement can last for weeks, months or even years and they all have no guarantees. The only way you can get to know if the best course of action for you to take is taking your case to court or settling it out of court is if you talk to an experienced attorney.
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