The Real Story - WORKERS COMPENSATION in Florida. Learn how to protect your rights if you've been injured at work.
Mattlaw.com
If you have been injured on the job in Florida, there are a few things you should do to protect all of your rights.
1. Report your work injury to your employer or supervisor as soon as possible.
2. Get good medical attention right away.
3. Try to document what caused your work injury.
4. Call a Board Certified Workers Compensation Lawyer by the Florida Bar to learn how you can protect your rights.
Reporting your injury to a supervisor or your employer is extremely important. Letting a coworker know is not good enough.
Also, work-place injuries or accidents MUST be reported within 30 days.
Here is a list of important tips workers should be aware of if they’ve been injured on the job in Florida:
- Do NOT let your employer talk you out of making a worker’s compensation claim if you are injured on the job.
- Do NOT sign any Severance Agreement without the help of a Board Certified Workers Compensation Lawyer.
- If you are injured, do NOT be afraid to make a claim. You have rights and most people think they will be fired if they make a claim, but that is highly ILLEGAL, so the law protects you.
- Get a Board Certified Workers Compensation Lawyer as quickly as possible to preserve your rights.
Hiring an attorney is an important decision, so you need to make sure you hire one who has extensive experience and who is a specialist in that type of law.
Here are the three elements under the law that workers are entitled to recover in Florida:
1. Medical treatment for your injuries
2. Lost wages - available for the time period before the worker reaches maximum medical improvement, unless the injuries were catastrophic resulting in permanent and total disability
3. Lump sum settlements
For more information about workers compensation claims in Florida, call Richard Driscoll, Board Certified Workers Compensation Lawyer by the Florida Bar, at 813-251-3001.
www.richardwdriscoll.com/
0:00 Introduction to Workers Compensation
0:28 How common are workplace injuries
0:38 What should you do if you are hurt on the job
0:40 You should notify a supervisor immediately
1:00 Why Board Certification as a Workers Compensation Attorney is so important
1:35 Most common mistakes people make with workers compensation
1:48 Don't let your employer talk you out of making a claim
1:59 You may waive your right to long term benefits and lost wages
2:09 What is a severance agreement
3:05 What should you do if your employer asks you to sign something after an on the job injury
3:18 Don't settle your workers compensation case without asking a lawyer first
3:35 Don't believe the adjuster when they say you don't need a lawyer
3:40 A lawyer will help you recover more money than settling on your own
4:00 Don't be afraid to make a claim for your injury because you have rights
4:18 It is against the law to fire you for making a workers compensation claim
4:25 Your employer may have to pay punitive damages for firing you
4:40 No employer retaliation is allowed under the law
5:56 Who determines the value of my workers compensation claim
6:00 What are you entitled to receive if you are hurt on the job
6:58 Catastrophic workers compensation injuries
7:16 Lump sum or cash settlements
7:37 Am I getting the benefits I am entitled to receive
7:46 How much is my case worth
8:13 How does the attorney get paid
8:40 Examples of when the employer has to pay your attorney fees in a workers compensation claim
9:12 Insurance companies hate to pay board certified lawyers their fees
9:25 Are there caps on workers compensation
10:15 What are the time limits I need to know
11:40 When should you call an attorney for help
12:06 What happens when a worker is killed on the job
12:34 The death benefit is not to exceed $150,000
13:00 What if I am hurt on the job by a car crash
13:01 What if I am hurt on the job by another company
13:02 What if I am hurt on the job by defective equipment
14:00 What should you do to protect evidence about your accident