If you’re in an accident, you may need more than what you earn in a month. You’re lucky if you have an emergency fund to answer for your medical and attorney fees. Yes, you might end up hiring the services of an attorney, especially to claim your workers’ compensation benefits. Take note that not all cases are the same, so attorney fees also differ.
However, you must understand what the law says about workers’ compensation. This way, you’ll know how and when to pay your attorney.
What is Workers’ Compensation?
Before knowing how your attorney should get paid when working on your compensation benefits claims, you also need what workers’ compensation benefits are. Visiting a firm’s website, such as https://www.ramoslawfirm.com, will help you get answers regarding this matter.
Whatever your work is, you’ll be compensated for injuries that occur during your employment. If you’re working in Georgia, workers’ compensation benefits cover every employee according to the Code of Georgia.
When you’re injured, you don’t need to prove who’s at fault in your place of work. All you need is a diagnosis from your employer’s authorized doctor. You can then use these benefits for your daily needs due to your incapacity to work caused by your injuries.
However, you’re exempted for a workers’ compensation claim if you’re one of these workers:
● Independent contractors
● Domestic servants
● US Government Employees
● Farm laborers
● Employees working with no more than three colleagues
Types of Workers’ Compensation Benefits
If you have an accident due to your nature of work, you’ll be provided with the benefits you deserve. Without knowing these benefits, you’ll never know whether your employer is giving you what you deserve or not. These benefits will also determine whether to hire a lawyer or not.
So, familiarize yourself with these benefits:
● Vocational Benefits – one of the worst disadvantages of being injured is your incapacity to return to your previous job. Thus, the law covers vocational retraining, which you need to return to work.
The state of Georgia will cover the expenses you need to undergo such training. However, this only applies to employees with permanent physical restrictions caused by the injury.
● Permanent Disability Benefits – if your injury left you with a permanent – partial or total – disability, you’ll receive compensation.
Permanent partial disability occurs when one or more parts of your body get impaired from work-related disease or injury. Your compensation on this matter will depend on the severity of your impairment assessed by a workers’ comp doctor.
On the other hand, a permanent total disability is when you cannot work anymore due to the impact of the injury. This happens when you lose both of your hands, blind, or paralyzed. The compensation on this matter will be regularly for a lifetime.
● Lost Wages Benefits – also called temporary disability benefits wherein you’ll receive a percentage of your pay. These benefits compensate for the lost working hours.
● Medical Benefits – your employer, in this case, pays for your treatment. It covers recovery treatment, surgery, prescriptions, physical therapy, and doctor visits.
Attorney’s Fees
If you’re injured because of your work, and your employer doesn’t give you the benefits you deserve, then you’ll need the services of a lawyer. Hiring one can help you focus on recovering as your attorney will fight on your behalf against your disputing employer. That’s why you need to hire the best lawyers in Georgia.
You also don’t need to worry about your attorney’s fees while your case is ongoing. It’s because according to the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation, here’s how attorneys should be paid:
● You should not pay your lawyer for more than 400 weeks of your income benefits. However, an exception to this rule happens as long as you won’t pay them more than 25% of your weekly benefits.
● The Board will first approve a contract before you pay your lawyer for more than USD 100 fee.
● Paying through a third party creditor is never allowed as a way to pay your attorney.
● You only pay your attorney as approved by the Board from your weekly benefits if you receive it due to the efforts of your lawyer.
● Your attorney’s fee will only start after you receive your compensation.
● A contingency fee agreement is when you pay your lawyer, depending on whether you are granted a benefit.
● You will not pay your lawyer based on your medical benefits.
Conclusion:
That being said, it’s best to hire an attorney when you’re involved in an injury caused by your work. Since you won’t pay upfront fees, you won’t need a lot of money to hire a lawyer. However, to get the benefits you deserve, you’ll have to find the best lawyer.
If your attorney cannot win your claims, you may not receive the benefits that you deserve. Thus, the skills of your attorney on this matter are crucial, so both of you will be compensated.