Personal injuries and work injuries are different and are governed by different rules and laws. If you have been injured, the first thing you need to find out is who to call. Getting a Personal injury or workers compensation attorney is only a Google search away.
Before we go further, let’s understand what these terms mean.
Why Should I Hire a Personal Injury Attorney?
A personal injury lawyer is anyone licensed by the bar to provide legal representation to individuals who feel they have suffered injury as a result of someone else’s negligence.
Personal injuries are injuries suffered from car accidents, slip and falls, and most other accidents that occur outside of work. These injuries usually cause additional medical expenses and repairs that people do not anticipate.
Unlike in workers’ compensation cases, a victim of a personal injury must prove the negligence of the other party to win the case and recover damages.
The injured person must prove negligence in a slip and fall injury. When accidents like this happen, the injured person must prove that the owner of that property neglected to maintain the property safely.
In a car accident, the injured person must prove that the other driver acted negligently or recklessly in causing the crash.
Why Should I Hire a Workers Compensation Attorney?
A workers’ compensation attorney works for employees who have been injured on the job to recover compensation for the permanent damage done by these injuries, loss of wages, and medical bills.
Workers’ compensation permits workers in an accident to receive compensation depending on the nature of their injury. Unlike personal injury cases, in workers’ compensation cases, the injured party does not have to prove negligence. Any worker injured on the job is entitled to workers compensation with very limited exceptions.
They can include:
- Medical benefits
- Wage reimbursement benefits
- Temporary partial disability benefits
- Permanent partial disability benefits
- Permanent total disability benefits
- Vocational rehabilitation benefits
- Industrial disability benefits
- Mileage to and from medical appointments
A workers’ compensation attorney represents the injured worker (claimant) to help the individual get compensated for an accident at their workplace.
The company or insurance company will likely have a workers’ comp lawyer to defend the employer.
Having a workers’ compensation lawyer on your side can help protect you in many ways including:
- Gathering medical evidence and medical records
- Gathering depositions from the claimant, defendant, medical experts, physicians, and other parties
- Performing legal research
- Staying on par with the current developments in the law
- Drafting motions, legal documents, pleadings, opinions, and finding facts
- Attempting to negotiate the best settlement for your case
- Arguing cases before a judge
Differences between Personal Injury and Worker Compensation
One major difference between a personal injury lawsuit and a workers’ compensation case is that claimants aren’t entitled to benefits for pain and suffering in workers’ compensation cases.
Whereas personal injury claims are entitled to recovering all damages, including pain and suffering. Other damages include lost jewelry, lost earning capacity, impairments, enjoyment of life, etc.
Skills and Knowledge Needed by Both Lawyers
Some of the skills you should look for in your lawyer include:
Strong litigation and trial experience
Practical knowledge and application of personal injury and workers’ compensation laws and procedures
- Excellent communication skills
- Strong research and analytical skills
- Ability to work independently or as a team.
If you have suffered a personal injury or a work injury, call Platt Law Firm. The attorney and staff have the experience, knowledge and skill to help you protect your rights.