Hello, my name is Ty Wilson. I’m a Georgia workers compensation attorney, practicing law in the state of Georgia. And our topic is, “Can I handle my work injury claim on my own without an attorney?” Yes, you can but the bigger question is, should you?
When you are injured, either at work or in an accident outside of work, like a car wreck, there are certain steps that must take place within a specific time frame. Mistakes that are make during those early days can prove detrimental to your claim. Let’s look at an example case.
Joe was injured at work. He goes to his regular doctor who determines that he needs to stay home from work for a period of time. When Joe was injured, it was his responsibility to report that injury to his employer and visit a doctor that is listed on a “panel of physicians”. Each employer should have this posted up in the workplace. Did Joe see a doctor from that panel? Did Joe even know there was a panel? What happens when it is found out that Joe’s employer never had a posted panel of physicians but they want to fight the claim anyway? These are some of the things that a work injury lawyer can help you with.
Let’s take it one step further. Let’s say that Joe gets a call from his employer after he is on limited duty and they tell him that they have a place for him to work. Should Joe return? At this point Joe needs to consider the extent of his injuries and we would recommend he speak with a Georgia Workers Compensation Attorney before you make that fatal error as it could have a detrimental impact on your claim. If he returns to work too early, or in the wrong capacity, this could cause a major issue.
Joe should at least get some clarity on his potential case from an experienced workers’ comp lawyer so he knows what benefits he is entitled to under the law. Workers’ comp can be very complex and it’s not the same as a personal injury.
One more thing we would explain to Joe – attorneys can be experienced in a very specific area. For example, many of our consultations are free. This is so we can review your scenario and make sure it is something we handle. If not, we may be able to refer you to someone who does. In our case, we specialize in working on cases that have both a workers’ comp and personal injury aspect. That means we have a very detailed understanding of the law in these areas.
If you would like to contact us to discuss whether to handle a work injury claim without an attorney, we can provide an honest, accurate review for you. If you can do it on your own, we will tell you. If we feel you need experienced legal advice and handling, we will explain that as well. You can contact us on our contact page.
