What Makes A Good Case?
I would like to answer the number one question I get from people who got hurt at work, “Do I have a good case? Do I have a good worker's comp case?"
So, I've given a little bit of thought and there are three parts to a Worker’s comp case. The first part is you an employee who was hurt at work. The second part is the fact that you're in the nature and extent of your injury is very clear and indisputable. And the third is there are absolutely no history of this problem that you had and until the work injury or is it like a lingering problem you've had for years, and the work injury made it worse.
Those are the three things that if the answer is correct, you have a very strong worker's comp case.
If You're An Employee
Let's talk about the first one in order to recover in workers comp. Filing a worker's comp claim, you have to be an employee not an independent contractor. That means you got to get taxes taken out of your check and you're in a regular employment relationship where they direct your work rather than you are being an independent contractor. If you're an employee, you're covered by workers comp and then is it indisputable that the accident happened. Did you fall off a ladder in full view of 30 other employees and the boss and other independent witnesses? Or did you get hurt while you were alone and then didn't report it for a week?
So, in the first scenario, there's no way the company can credibly dispute that the accident happened. But in a lot of these cases, if it's unwitnessed and you report the accident late, they'll sometimes fight the case on that basis. That's something to think about if it's indisputable. If you're definitely an employee, you got a stronger case.
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The Nature And Extent Of The Injury
Then, the second thing is what is the nature and extent of the injury? On the one hand, we could have like a broken leg everybody. You walk into work that day, you have an accident that everybody sees, and your leg is broken. Everybody can look at it, and tell it's broken. You go to the hospital immediately, they diagnosed as a broken leg, that is a clear indisputable injury. That makes for a strong case contrast that with like a neck injury, that comes and goes and they give you an MRI and it shows a little something. But it’s not a herniated disk with a nerve being pinched, so it turns out that a lot of times with the neck or back injury, you can have a normal MRI or an MRI that doesn't show much but still really have pain but with an injury.
With a broken leg, the company can easily hire a doctor to fight the case. A clear indisputable injury makes for a stronger case.
The History Of The Injury
The third one is whether there's any history of that injury before or whether it's pretty much indisputable that it was caused by what happened at work. We can use the same analogy if you walked into work everybody, so you walk into work, you'll work great for three hours then you fall off the ladder and now your leg is obviously broken. You obviously can't walk there's no question that the fall caused the broken leg. But same analogy as last time if we're talking about a neck injury and the company, the workers comp insurance orders your medical records from the past and there's like a ton of neck treatment in the past and you know like you went the week before to tell the doctor that your neck was killing you. Then you have this work injury and your neck injury gets worse, that's like a built-in defense for the workers comp insurance. So, I hope that gives you an idea of what makes for a good case versus a tougher case.
If you've been injured and you need to talk or you have any questions, I offer a free no-obligation case strategy session. You can reach me 24/7 at 312-540-500. I am happy to answer your questions or you can get more information at my website at www.DeSalvolaw.com.
