Work injuries are not fun; they are dangerous and can bring on serious health consequences. But ignoring the issue and pretending nothing happened isn’t going to bring you any consolation. You might be thinking, “Oh it’s alright, I’ll just keep working. I don’t want to lose my job.” But what if an injury worsens and requires hospitalization or further medical help. That’s why, when you suffer a work injury, you should contact a good work injury attorney to help you obtain compensation.
So just how do you go about finding a good attorney? Well you’ll have to analyze a few things and ask a few questions, do your research and you’ll find an excellent attorney that can show you what your next step should be.
Honest and Friendly
“You can tell a lot from a handshake,” as the saying goes. You only want to work with an attorney that is open, honest and friendly; someone that will be straight up and tell you like it is; an attorney that knows the field well. He’ll fully understand your injury and your grievances, and will take the time you need to explain what could happen, the type of settlement or payment you can expect; and he may even give you an approximate amount of time the case will take.
Looking for the right work injury attorney
Typically, you want to find an attorney who deals with worker’s compensation cases. To find someone experienced in this type of work, talk to people at work, family and friends who might know a good attorney. You could also call your local Better Business Bureau and your local bar association to get a few suggestions.
Make an Appointment
Don’t feel intimidated. You have the right to select the attorney you feel the most comfortable with, and this might mean you need to visit more than one lawyer’s office to find the one you feel comfortable with, and one you want to contract.
An initial appointment is usually free, and the attorney gives you this time to determine whether you have a case, and whether both of you want to work together.
Get Ready for That Appointment
Once you’ve called and made the appointment, you can take some time to plan it all out. Decide on what you are going to ask. You want to be sure to find out the following:
- The experience the attorney has. Preferably you want an attorney that has settled many successful cases.
- The success rate the attorney has had in cases similar to yours.
- The length of time this lawyer has worked in the area. Someone who has worked longer in the area will have a better understanding of the court systems.
What You Can Expect
A good work injury attorney will ask lots of questions and will ask that you answer them as fully as you can. This gives the attorney a better understanding of what happened and the type of case you might have. Pay attention, you want to stay away from the attorney who doesn’t seem interested or doesn’t request a lot of information from you.
Worker’s compensation is a complex issue, so you want to contract an attorney as soon as possible. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should just go with any attorney though. You want to get a good attorney right from the very beginning.
You actually want to contact a work injury attorney before you contact the insurance provider and accept any type of settlement. You can contact an attorney at any time during the process, but you have a distinct advantage when you do it in the beginning. Be sure you keep copies of everything that has to do with your injury too. You want to keep records of your hospital bills, your payments and any benefits you receive.
