Workers Compensation – Things You Should Know, Missouri On-the-job Injury Attorneys, Insurance

1. THE LAW SAYS YOU CANNOT BE FIRED FOR FILING A WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CASE.

Many people are afraid to exercise their right to be compensated when they’re injured on the job because of the fear of being fired. While the law in most states is clear that people cannot be fired because they file workers’ compensation claims it’s also true that occasionally an employer will violate the law and terminate an employee. At Brown and Crouppen we believe that retaining a lawyer in a workers’ compensation claim is the single most effective thing that can be done to prevent a “bad” employer from breaking the law and terminating an injured worker who is just exercising his or her legal rights.

2. THE INSURANCE COMPANY IS NOT YOUR FRIEND.

If you’ve been hurt on the job it’s important to understand the “real” agenda of the insurance company in your case. First, understand the insurance company is not your friend, they are not looking out for you, they are only looking out for their own interests. See, insurance companies exist for one purpose only, to make money. Insurance companies make money by selling workers’ compensation insurance to employers and receiving premium payments, they then invest this money and make even more money. Insurance companies lose money by paying out benefits (money) to people hurt while working on the jobs provided by these employers. Since you are one of those people who want the insurance company to pay you money you represent a potential loss to the insurance company and insurance companies hate losses, cause that really sets back that whole “exist only to make money” thing. Never forget these simple facts, they are the basis for everything the insurance company does, they have only one goal, that is to close your case without paying you anything or if they have to pay you something, to pay you as little as possible.

3. THE INSURANCE COMPANY IS ALWAYS REPRESENTED BY AN EXPERIENCED WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAWYER.

Insurance companies are smart, they know that when you're dealing with the law you need a lawyer, a lawyer experienced in workers’ compensation law. These lawyers are there for one reason only, to protect the interests of the insurance company. While the state does provide a judge or legal advisor, they are not there to be your lawyer, they do not represent you. If you choose not to be represented by a lawyer you are on your own.

4. INSURANCE COMPANIES PAY MORE MONEY IN WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CASES WHEN THE INJURED PERSON IS REPRESENTED BY A LAWYER.

I believe this because of my years of experience talking to people hurt on the job. It explains why so much of an insurance adjuster’s time is spent trying to discourage accident victims from talking to lawyers. When you think about it, it makes sense, of course unrepresented people who have essentially no knowledge or experience about workers’ compensation law, won’t be able to negotiate nearly as effectively as a trained, workers’ compensation attorney. Since insurance company’s sole reason to exist is to make money it’s clear that keeping injured people and lawyers apart makes good business sense for them but not for you.

5. HIRING A LAWYER DOESN’T MEAN YOUR CASE WILL TAKE YEARS TO BE SETTLED.

A lot of people think that hiring a lawyer delays the legal process so that their case will take years to be completed. The truth is, this is usually not the case. At Brown and Crouppen most workers’ compensation cases are finished in eighteen months or less. In short, don’t worry, a good workers’ compensation lawyer, will not delay your case at all, which means your case will most likely be settled favorably in months not years.

6. YOU DON’T HAVE FOREVER TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CASE.

Unfortunately, this is the truth. There are definite time limits in taking care of your case. These time limits are called statutes of limitations and if you wait past the time set out in the statute your case is over, forever, regardless if you have gotten any money or not. Don’t let this happen to you, if you have a injury on the job don’t wait until it’s too late, call Brown and Crouppen now.

7. IT DOES NOT COST YOU ANY MONEY IN ADVANCE TO GET A LAWYER IN A WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CASE.

At Brown and Crouppen our policy in workers’ compensation cases, as well as our other injury cases, is that we never charge you any “in advance” legal fee. The only way you ever pay any legal fees or expenses is at the conclusion of your case and then only out of the money we were able to recover. If we are unsuccessful and no money is collected then any costs we incurred is our expense and of course you owe us nothing for our time. We believe we should make money only after we make you money. That’s why it doesn’t cost you any money in advance to get a lawyer in a workers’ compensation case.

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