Get hurt @ work, lose job, and insurance, now a dental emergency...

[mrmpa]

18. The first thing I wish anyone that gets hurt on the job would do........

Last edited Fri Jun 22, 2012, 08:44 PM - Edit history (1)

is GET AN ATTORNEY. Union or not. If union, they will have an attorney you can talk to about the issues involved. The attorney will be permitted under the law to take a percentage from your comp check. The insurance company will forward it to the lawyer, so you don't have to worry about it. Most unions will pay for the attorney, usually up to $1,000, whether or not you win your case.

If not union, the lawyer will receive a percentage of your comp check, but most important they will guide you through the system. Comp law is so complicated, convulated, and biased toward the employer it's ridiculous.

From experience I know this. I was hurt on my job four years ago (broken hip). Three months after the accident, the comp doctor ordered me back to work. I went to an attorney recommended by the union. I was in so much pain, I couldn't sit during our meeting and was in tears. it was obvious to the attorney I could not return to work. He recommended a physician, I saw the doctor and she recommended I not return to work. This overrode the comp doctor.

I eventually had another surgery, because the comp surgeon had f..ked up the repair. I was off for 2.5 years and we eventually settled with the insurance company for a lump sum. My extra costs after the initial $1,000 was about $450, for depositions and copies of transcripts.