Good evening gents, what are some qualities for finding a very good Workmans comp lawyer for an injury that happened at work? January 3rd I fell down some steps at the prison and slightly(20%) tore my Patellar Tendon. I'm reading all reviews but damn near all of them are positive. I wanted a NJ lawyer but the lawyers i've contacted don't have a license in Delaware. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
OT: Workman Comp lawyers?
- Thread starter miket007
- Start date
Not sure if he's licensed in Delaware but I hear that he's the best. (seriously, good luck)
Your union doesn't have a lawyer on retainer or are they just not good? I'm just over the Maryland line, I can ask my lawyer friends if they have any Delaware recommendations.
Check to ensure that your lawyer is “Certified “ by the Supreme Court as a worker’s compensation attorney
If it is in Delaware- I’m almost sure you need a lawyer from that state.
I do have a very good NJ WC attorney that helped me find someone in NY. I can inquire if she knows Delaware as well.
BTW- if you are going to go WC- do it immediately and refrain from doing anything with your personal doctors. And once you get someone- make sure EVERYTHING goes through them.
Btw- here is a good guid for compensation and timeframes for Del WC.WC Delaware
I believe knee counts as leg, anything below the knee counts as foot.
And though I wouldn’t usually say to do this but since WC is so tilted for the employer, you may want to attribute any back pain you normally have as being related or being caused by the knee problem.
I believe knee counts as leg, anything below the knee counts as foot.
And though I wouldn’t usually say to do this but since WC is so tilted for the employer, you may want to attribute any back pain you normally have as being related or being caused by the knee problem.
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And if you are going to sue your employer for a knee injury you should probably refrain from asking about squatting advice on the main board. Lol
I do agree that you need to keep what you do in mind of going to workers comp.
But, you also have to keep in mind- WC eliminates “suing your employer”
And the moment you do file a claim, you can not have your personal doctor do anything with it or even ask them to take a look at it.
WC works on a formula stated on the link I provided. You will go through the WC physician and through one appointed through your attorney- after a year and up to 2 years of rehab or any other recommended procedures, they will world out/negotiate a % based on their findings and pay you based on tge formula. If they determine 20% and it is “leg” and it says you get up to 250 weeks for a leg injury. They pay you 50 weeks based on the determined weekly rate.
BTW- if you back is also suffering- they do the same formula and that is added.
Now, there are two determinations- are you doing a final settlement? Meaning, you cannot reopen the claim or a settlement that allows you to reopen the case within 2 years.
Depending on which one, they may negotiate up or down.
No i wasn't asking about leg exercises lol. I was asking about eliptical cardio work. It's a proven fact this has no effect on the knee and i need to keep the blood flowing...
It certainly is tilted to both the employer & especially the insurance co.
I had to go on WC a few years back- literally walked into a break room and slipped on spilled coffee. When I came aware- emt was there and I couldnt feel my legs and everything above the waist hurt like hell.
They brought me to the hospital, who had me fill out WC documentation, as did the company HR team. I didn't even inquire. Checked out about 6 hours later and was out of work for 2 weeks. They expected me to be out much longer but one of the things that also happens, once you are on WC- you are considered no longer a working employee. Being in Sales, that meant I could no longer earn new commissions while on WC. Happened that at that time, commissions were about 30-40k per month. No f-ing way I was going to sit home on WC for $700 a week. or something like that. So, back to work I limp...The semi good news is that even though I am back to work, they cover the medical expenses.
Until- my attorney calls me up informing me that they were disputing my claim. Because I had missed a couple of days a month or two earlier due to migraines and light headedness. Claimed that I must have had one of these and that is why I fell in the break room.
So, that means we have to go to court and in the meanwhile- medical was not being covered. First thing the judge told them in court is that their dispute was not going to be honored as the law with WC is that the reason for a fall has nothing to do with the claim. It is if the fall itself caused injury. A person could literally be horsing around and trip but if they get hurt because of that fall- WC has to cover it.
But this took another few months and my Manager and Managing Director kept trying to come up with some new weird disputes. And each time in the courtroom, they were admonished for it.
The company actually let me go during this time as they could not see how I could work for these two any longer.
Finally, court case was found in my favor. With I believe 54% on my knee and 61 % for my shoulder. Ended up with a forkload of cash and even a much better job but it was a complete nightmare.
No idea about Delaware but when I worked in NJ Public Sector employment shopping around for a lawyer outside the union was greatly frowned on by the union. Only happened once in 12 years in my experience. Wasn't a Workers' comp case. The union made the guy sign a waiver saying he could expect no support from the union if he went that route. NJ public employees WC administered by the Division of Pensions and Benefits. Not the regular WC office.
We as employer weren't happy either. It was a disaster as the lawyer keep wanting to cite rules and precedents that applied to private employers. We had to keep pointing out that doesn't cover public workers. It's all laid out in the civil service regulations, and union contracts. But he'd never done a public employee case and and had no clue.
Employee ended up with a smaller settlement than he could have got just going along the usual union track. And he had to pay the lawyer.
We as employer weren't happy either. It was a disaster as the lawyer keep wanting to cite rules and precedents that applied to private employers. We had to keep pointing out that doesn't cover public workers. It's all laid out in the civil service regulations, and union contracts. But he'd never done a public employee case and and had no clue.
Employee ended up with a smaller settlement than he could have got just going along the usual union track. And he had to pay the lawyer.
I wonder if public vs private union is different. My son, had a significant injury at work where he got pinned between 2 forklifts. He was in a union but at a private company. He used a private WC lawyer, though, he did have to notify the union of who the lawyer was. There was no issue at all.
Question also about the last paragraph - if this person had used the union, is it because the union was covering WC insurance? I would assume that would be the case. And by paying his lawyer- does that mean the Union WC attorney does not get a % like a private one would?
I would assume private union is different than public.
The NJ public employee union dues covered their members' representation in the normal administrative law proceedings. Again not certain on WC, but I'd think likely.
my uneducated guess is that a Public workers union most likely provides the WC lawyers as the Union is covering public employees for a number of different organizations.
From my understanding many unions has agreements with law firms that charge a reduced rate for the union members that want to use them.
Stands to reason that unions have WC specialists like that in which members can use.
But unions don't supply or pay for those lawyers, member must contact them and pay whatever is the charge..
Unions just have names of lawyers that give members a reduced rate , if the member asks.
But that's the extent of union involvement when one of its members need a lawyer..
Typically WC lawyers work off of a contingent fee, where the lawyer is paid entirely out of the settlement or award.
So one that is obtained trough a union referral probably has a reduced percentage of settlement/award than one hired that doesn't have union rate ties.
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