Stephen Hasner | Workers' Compensation | January 3, 2025
Employees who suffer work-related injuries and illnesses are eligible to pursue compensation through the workers’ compensation employer-based insurance program. You’ll want a lawyer to ensure a smooth claims process and secure a reasonable settlement. Knowing what questions to ask a workers’ compensation attorney adequately prepares you for your free consultation and ensures you don’t forget anything important. Schedule a free case evaluation to get started.
Preparation for Free Consultations
Free consultations generally last between 30 to 60 minutes. It allows you to get a feel for how prospective lawyers present themselves. Do they instill confidence? Are they direct with their responses or shy away from straight answers? To make the most of your time, come prepared with questions and any documentation or evidence in your case. Evidence you should bring to your consultation includes the following:
- Employment Records and Reports: Bring the incident report detailing the accident, including the date, time, and location. You’ll also want to gather employment records, such as personnel files, pay stubs, and job descriptions, to verify your work duties and employment status.
- Witness Statements: Gather statements and contact information from witnesses who can attest to the workplace accident while providing valuable insight into the sequence of events. Statements can come from coworkers, supervisors, customers, or patients who witnessed the incident.
- Medical Records: The medical evidence in your workers’ compensation is the foundation of your case. Detailed documentation is pertinent to claim approval. If you have your medical records, bring them. Otherwise, you can sign a release for your workers’ compensation attorney to obtain them from your medical providers. Medical records should include diagnoses, diagnostic test results, prescribed treatment plans, and your response to rehabilitation services.
- Visual Evidence: Photographic or video evidence of the incident, accident scene, unsafe work conditions, and injuries are viable visual evidence that significantly impacts a workers’ comp claim. Your attorney will work quickly to secure video evidence before it is lost or destroyed when relevant to your accident.
- Safety Protocols Evidence: Employer safety protocols that establish company policy are helpful. Do you have an employee handbook outlining them? Documentation of safety violations, such as a lack of proper safety equipment or malfunctioning equipment that contributed to the accident, is invaluable.
- Economic Damage Evidence: What has your workplace accident cost you? Bring evidence of monetary losses incurred due to the incident. Financial documentation may include medical bills, employer lost-wage statements, and receipts for expenses like gas to and from medical appointments, copays, and deductibles.
If you’ve maintained a journal documenting your pain and suffering, bring that to your consultation, too. The goal is to be as organized and detailed as possible with your workers’ compensation attorney so they can accurately understand your case. You should talk to a lawyer immediately following an injury, so you may not have some or any of these items. Don’t fret. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney will determine how to proceed after hearing the details of your claim and help gather evidence once accepting your case.
Questions to Ask a Workers’ Compensation Attorney
When interviewing prospective lawyers, you should ask questions from many areas to ensure a well-rounded understanding of their beliefs, practices, and successes. You want an attorney who is confident and makes you believe in them, not one who is arrogant and pushy. To get a good read and feeling about who will be handling your case, come prepared with questions about experience, case assessment, the claims process, and your personal role. You’ll also want to ask about case strategy, the timeline of your settlement, potential compensation amounts, communications, and fee structure.
- Questions About Experience
- Questions About Case Assessment
- Questions About the Claims Process and Personal Role
- Questions About Case Strategy and Handling
- Questions About Settlement Timeline
- Questions About Settlement Potential
- Questions About Communication
- Questions to Ask a Workers’ Compensation Attorney About Fee Structure
Questions About Experience
When choosing an attorney to represent your case, you want one with experience filing, preparing, and overseeing workers’ compensation claims. You wouldn’t go to a podiatrist to discuss heart issues. Similarly, you shouldn’t hire a lawyer who isn’t trained, knowledgeable, and experienced in handling workers’ compensation cases. Questions to ask an attorney about their experience may include:
- How long have you been practicing law?
- Is workers’ compensation your primary practice area?
- Do you have experience handling cases like mine?
- What is your success rate in handling cases like mine?
- What is your success rate in settling cases out of court?
- Will my case require a hearing with an administrative law judge?
They must have experience with the claims process and litigating cases in court. While most workers’ compensation claims do not require litigation, you may need to sue your employer or insurer if they deny your claim—or you are seeking substantial pain and suffering. Ask prospective lawyers about their trial experience litigating claims. Do you have experience taking cases like mine to trial? What is your success rate with litigating cases like mine?
Questions About Case Assessment
Your initial consultation begins with assessing your case before discussing possible strategies and outcomes. It involves identifying and asking questions you need answers to before moving forward with a workers’ compensation claim. Examples of case assessment questions to ask a workers’ compensation attorney include the following:
- Does it matter if the accident was my fault?
- What will my workers’ compensation benefits cover?
- What is the statute of limitations for my workers’ compensation claim?
Prospective lawyers will need to know the how, when, and where of an accident when assessing your case. You should also inform them of anyone else involved in the accident and if there are any witnesses. If you have prior health issues that may impact current injuries, you should also clarify that with your attorney.
Questions About the Claims Process and Personal Role
Understanding the claims process and your personal role in it is vital before hiring a workers’ compensation lawyer to represent your case. You want to ensure a confident understanding of a workers’ compensation claim and what your responsibility is to ensure it goes smoothly. Questions to ask about the claims process and your role include the following:
- What are the legal grounds for my claim?
- What documentation must I provide to initiate my workers’ comp claim?
- How will you help gather evidence to support my claim?
- What protections do I have against employer retaliation for filing a claim?
- What are the potential challenges we may face during the claims process?
Generally, your primary role in the claims process is to provide accurate information about the incident and related medical treatment to your attorney. Workers’ compensation cases typically involve incident reports, employment records, medical records and bills, witness contact information, and receipts for out-of-pocket costs associated with your injuries. You should also document pain and suffering in a journal. Entries should be dated and consistently detail your physical pain levels, sleep disturbances, emotional distress, and other symptoms of injury.
Questions About Case Strategy and Handling
Experienced workers’ compensation lawyers should provide valuable insight into the specifics of your case and how they may play out. While each case is unique, many involve similar circumstances. Their experience helps identify these similarities and determine plausible strategies and outcomes. Questions to ask about case strategy are as follows:
- What are my case’s strengths and weaknesses?
- What are potential strategies for my case?
- What are the potential outcomes of my case?
It is essential to know who will personally handle your case. If you build a rapport with the attorney and can only ever speak to their paralegal, whom you don’t communicate well with, that will be an issue. Ask questions like—who will be my primary contact person at your firm?
Questions About Settlement Timeline
You’ll want to ask prospective lawyers how long they anticipate it will take to secure a settlement. It is impossible to give an exact date. How long it takes to settle depends on the severity of your injuries, length of medical treatments, healthcare costs, and impact your injuries have on your life. However, after learning the specifics of your case, they should provide valuable insight into how long your workers’ compensation case may take. Ask questions like—what is a typical timeline for a case like mine?
Questions About Settlement Potential
Naturally, you’ll want to ask how much you can expect from your settlement. Depending on the severity of your injuries, workers’ compensation may cover medical bills, lost income due to time off, and disability benefits for injuries resulting in long-term impairment. Questions to ask a workers’ compensation attorney about potential settlements include:
- What damages can I pursue in my workers’ compensation claim?
- What are the likely settlement options for my case?
- Will my settlement cover all of my past and future medical expenses?
- How will you calculate the value of my claim?
- What are the potential tax implications of my settlement?
If an employee dies due to a work-related injury or illness, their family or dependents may be eligible for death benefits. These cover funeral and burial expenses, as well as lost earnings for a period of time. A workers’ compensation lawyer can assist families who need to file a workers’ compensation claim for death benefits.
Questions About Communication
Communication is imperative for instilling trust and confidence. You’ll want to ensure you understand your lawyer’s communication style, their preferred method of communication, and how often they will communicate with you about your claim. Questions to ask your workers’ compensation attorney about communication include:
- How often will you update me about my workers’ comp claim?
- Will you update me through emails or by phone?
- Will you accept my phone calls?
- Will you respond to my emails?
You should consider another firm if a lawyer informs you they do not respond to emails or take client calls. Your workers’ compensation lawyer should take your phone calls. However, they may not take them immediately because they work with multiple clients. Sometimes, when attorneys are in court or busy with other client tasks, an assistant or paralegal may update you about your case.
Questions to Ask a Workers’ Compensation Attorney About Fee Structure
Most workers’ compensation attorneys work within contingent fee arrangements. Contingency allows lawyers to offer their clients their services at no upfront cost. Instead, they take their contingent fee or percentage of your settlement after securing a win. However, you may encounter a workers’ compensation lawyer with a fixed fee structure or hourly rate. Questions to ask a workers’ compensation attorney about fees include:
- Do you work for contingency or an hourly rate?
- How much is your contingent fee?
- Will I be responsible for paying anything if you do not win my case?
Contingent fee arrangements incentivize attorneys to win. If they do not win your case, they do not get paid. They should clarify their fee structure and additional costs at your initial consultation. You may still be responsible for court filing fees and other legal expenses. It’s never safe to assume, and you don’t want any unpleasant financial surprises in your future. There is no reason to work with a workers’ compensation lawyer who doesn’t offer contingency.
How a Workers’ Compensation Attorney Can Help
Being injured and missing work can create overwhelming physical, emotional, and financial stress. Fortunately, you don’t have to face the claims process alone. An experienced workers’ compensation can handle the insurance claims and legal processes so that you can focus on rehabilitation and rest. Their services generally include the following:
- Case Investigation: Your attorney will thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the incident, including gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and taking photographic evidence when applicable. They will visit your workplace and identify potential hazards that may have contributed to your injuries. Finally, they will identify potential video surveillance of the incident and secure it before it is lost or destroyed.
- Insurance Communications: After retaining a workers’ compensation lawyer, they will handle all communications with insurance companies. This helps protect claimants from insurance tactics designed to get them to say something they can use to deny or undervalue claims. Your attorney will negotiate a reasonable settlement with your employer’s insurance claims adjuster.
- Hearing Representation: Many workers’ compensation claims require hearings before an administrative law judge. Your attorney will prepare you by mock interviewing you with questions the judge may ask before representing you at the hearing.
Schedule a free case evaluation with a personal injury lawyer to discuss the merits of your case. You’ll want to ensure a comprehensive evaluation of the damages of your claim before strategizing a plan to recover them.
