Injured and can I get a settlement from Workmans Compensation
By Virgie60
@Virgie60 (556)
United States
June 20, 2011 10:24pm CST
In December of 2010 I fell down two steps while at work due to a rug that was hanging over the step and broke both wrists, thumb, and my left elbow. The wrists and thumb healed up just fine but not the elbow. I can not fully extend my elbow and also can not bend it towards me fully either. I am not sure to what extent that it does not function - I believe maybe 15%. Further surgery is not really advised in that it would not help much. So I was wondering can I receive money for a permanent partial disability? If so how do I go about doing this? I don't want to get ripped off because after all I have to live with my elbow like this for the rest of my life. Also I am still having pain with this and I really hope that will go away soon so that I don't have to suffer with that too.
Any advice?
Thanks!
3 responses
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
21 Jun 11
I am sorry to hear of your injuries at work.
I see that you are in the US and if you were injured at work you are entitled to workers compensation. If the workers compensation is not fully cooperating, I would go online and search for attorneys near you where you can explain what happened. They will review your case free of charge and will not charge you if you do not win a settlement.
There are attorneys that can help with disability too, so I would begin by searching for disability attorneys near you. They send you to specific doctors and do all the requests for medical records. You would not pay anything and if they feel you have a case they will do all the necessary steps in getting all the records and get this moving for you. They will send you to specialists and determine what future damage you have and seek for monetary compensations and or disability for you.
Good luck with this and hope you can get the treatment necessary for your injury.
1 person likes this
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
21 Jun 11
Very good advice HWG. I think she should see a disability attorney also. The attorneys that the companies hire don't care about her. She needs representation so that she gets a fair shake. She may be permanently injured because of this. Very good discussion here. I'll be following this one.
@Virgie60 (556)
• United States
21 Jun 11
Yes I will probably be looking into a lawyer. I just want to make sure that I get what is coming to me, because I don't think my elbow will ever be the same again. I used to do waitress work but really doubt if I could carry trays anymore. Currently I still do janitor work and library assistant work. The library is no problem for me but the janitor work can be kind of hard on my arms. Too bad that I can't get pain & suffering as it has been 6 months and still have pain.
Thanks for your replies.
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
21 Jun 11
You should be able to collect. Maybe you would have to apply for ssd if you are unable to work. I don't know if you can get WC permanently...so I would contact a lawyer and find out what your rights are.
@Virgie60 (556)
• United States
21 Jun 11
Luckily I can work but it is harder to do so. Still have pain in the elbow and can not lift as much. I do janitor work and all that mopping and vacuuming can get pretty tiring with my injured arms.
I probably will look into a lawyer just to make sure.
Thanks.
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
21 Jun 11
GET AN ATTORNEY!!!! I can't emphasis that enough! I've been through it, GET AN ATTORNEY!!! Most you don't pay anything until the settlement and then it is a percentage of the settlement...6% or something.Oh my gosh, get an attorney. You say things healed well...that's for now...what about years down the road? You can settle for lifetime medical on those injured parts and if anything happenes to them in the future, WC covers it 100%. Or you settle for a higher amount, and get a lump sum and if anything happens to those places in the future, you/your insurance can cover it, but with insurance companies getting goofy lately,....they might have a clause to not cover previous injuries or even injuries previous with WC involved. Bt definately...get an attorney!!! I went through this...my problem was that the WC compaines kept going BK or closing and my case was trasfered 4 different times to different carriers. If I'd been on my own, I shutter the thought if I'd been lost in the shuffle and things like that. Get an attorney!!!
