Saint James City Workers Compensation Attorney

After experiencing an accident in Fort Myers, the last thing you want is to have an attorney at hand that doesn't know how to represent you adequately. You want a reputable Fort Myers law firm that will fearlessly fight to acquire maximum compensation on your behalf. That is precisely what Trial Pro, P.A. does. Our Fort Myers lawyers hold a strong reputation for winning cases, and we do everything in our power to deliver the results you're expecting.

Trial Pro P.A. is proud to advocate for workers compensation victims all over the state of Florida, including our office in Saint James City. Our dedicated experienced personal injury attorneys handle a range of legal matters, from employment disputes to auto accidents claims. We can use our knowledge and legal skills to help you not only achieve a favorable outcome, but relieve the legal burden from your shoulders as well. Our entire team understands how challenging and confusing litigation can be, which is why we are here for you through every step of the process. Serving all areas of Florida including Orlando, Doctor Phillips, Mims, Saint Petersburg, Longwood, Lake Hart and more!

• Can you work while on workers compensation?
• Can you sue workers compensation for pain and suffering?
• Can you be fired for being injured on the job?
• Can The Internal Revenue Service take a workers compensation settlement?
• Can I get unemployment if I get hurt at work?
• Can I sue my employer for emotional distress?
• Do workers comp Insurance Companies Pay For Lost Wages?

Florida law requires most employers to buy workers' compensation insurance coverage. Under Florida workers compensation laws, employees are compensated for occupationally sustained injuries, despite fault. This insurance coverage makes companies immune from some injury suits by workers.

Are you trying to find a Workers' Comp Law Firm near you? If you are hurt, we understand you may not have the ability to drop by our offices. Let us come to your place!

Trial Pro, P.A. works with Floridians in a variety of personal injury judicial matters. Our practice areas include all types of accidents; motor vehicle collisions, motorcycle accidents, wrongful death cases, slip-and-fall accidents, truck collisions, construction accidents and workers comp injuries. With offices in Orlando, Tampa, Naples, Brevard County, Melbourne and Fort Myers. Trial Pro, P.A. provides strategic advice and counsel to clients in areas such as Fruitland Park, South Apopka, Deltona, Kendall, South Fort Myers, Pelican Bay and throughout Florida. Get in touch with our law firm for a completely free and confidential assessment of how we can help.

Workers' compensation in FL is a legally required system of benefits that are available to most people who are injured or hurt on the job. It is a no-fault system, meaning that for the most part negligence in the root cause of an injury is a non-issue. You can be entirely to blame or neglectful in triggering an accident, and this does not disqualify you from getting benefits. However your employer or colleague can be negligent in leading to the injury, and this does not entitle you to more benefits. Work Comp is said for being simultaneously a shield and a sword as for providing for benefits. It is a "sword" in that your Boss can not defend against your claim by saying you were negligent in causing the accident. It is a "shield" that offers protection to Companies from having to pay workers a lot of the damages that are readily available to non-employees who are injured or hurt cause by the accident.

Need to file a Work Comp Claim? Talk with our Expert Saint James City, FL Workers' Comp Lawyers Call us Right now to schedule an appointment - 800-874-2577

This situation exposes the "sword and shield" angle of Worker's Comp. Let us's state Evan is a very reckless baker. He hardly pays attention to what he's doing. He's heading out the side door at the workplace, hands loaded with garbage, to throw in the dumpster. As he rushes down the well-lighted stairs, he trips and falls down breaking his fibula. His manager goes to his aid, and sees that Evan as is usual was transporting excessive amounts of waste to be safe and his shoelaces were actually undone. You might think that Evan does not have a case due to the fact that his recklessness led to the accident. Yet you'd be wrong.

Saint James City companies and residential or commercial property owners are lawfully responsible for looking after their properties and need to maintain it in a fairly risk-free condition and tell occupants of any unsafe conditions of which they are conscious or should be aware.

And now let's change the facts a little bit. Evan instead of being careless is quite mindful. He consistently ties up his no slip boots in repeated knots, not ever races down the staircases, and never ever carries a lot more than he can. However, his office manager has been relatively slack lately. The light source on the staircases blown out, and he realizes that one of the steps is fractured and is a tripping hazard. However he's too busy to take care of that issue at this moment. As a result, Evan trips on the faulty dark stair that his employer knew of, and yet didn't even try to caution Evan about. If you feel that Evan can easily now sue his boss or Employer for negligence due to his boss's careless practices, you would most likely also be wrong. Negligent Evan has the same rights as a hurt worker as cautious Evan does. That may seem unfair, but that is a consequence of fault of negligence being a non-issue in workers comp.

Therefore, let's analyze who is qualified to these kinds of benefits in Florida. To start with, you have to be an employee. Independent contractors (or 1099 professionals) are not entitled to work comp benefits. Subsequently, the business that you work with must be big enough to be required to bear worker's compensation benefits. If there aren't at the very least four staff members, then the Company isn't expected to carry worker's compensation insurance coverage unless it is a construction employment Also, there are particular roles that aren't covered in FL under work comp. Cases of jobs that aren't covered are almost all real estate agents, owner-operators of rigs, the majority of volunteers, and taxi drivers.

Therefore, let's suppose you qualify as an employee under the work comp system, does that mean that you're entitled to benefits if you suffer injuries or have an accident at the workplace? Like many legal issues, the answer is that it depends. Before all else, the calamity or personal injury needs to "arise out of" and be "in the course and scope" of employment. Arising out of work generally means that some aspect of the job led to the accident. A good example of a reasonably usual injury occurrence at work that is not commonly a work-related injury is a heart attack or stroke. If you're sitting at your desk and you suffer a cardiac arrest in the course of work hours, this particular is not going to count as a workers' comp accident. It may have taken place at work, but the job did not trigger the cardiac arrest. Whether or not you have an extremely arduous job and you're supervisor has been harassing you non-stop and you feature a stroke due in part to the other emotional toll work takes on you, this is not going to be covered. The cardiac arrest, stroke, or other "internal failures " are contemplated to be personal in character and not related to your work duties. Consequently the simple fact that the event happened on the job is not good enough. Exceptions to these exclusions emerge if: (a) you are engaged in an unusual strain or exertion at the workplace, or (b) you are involved in an employment where there is a probability that such an event is work-related - for instance, a police officer or fireman.

"In the course and scope of employment" is also required for an injury to be protected under workers comp. In order to be in the course of employment, you definitely have to be at work. If you have a car or truck traffic collision either on your way to work or on your way home, a large number of instances those traffic collisionsare not going to be regarded as work-related injuries. There are exceptions. To remain in the span of employment, you have to be engaging in a task related to work in other words at the very least engaged in some kind of reasonable task the Company could possibly have anticipated. If your occupation is to do desk work in a business office but you injure or hurt yourself when you and your pal decide to have a race down the stairs to see who's in the best condition that injury is definitely not going to be considered work-related. You have unreasonably deviated from your work duties to the point that what you're doing at the moment of trauma is no more sufficiently linked to work to get considered work-related.

Thus let's claim that you've cleared the hurdles of being an employee that's injured or hurt in the course and scope of your job by an accident that arose out of work, what do you receive? To be entitled to lost wages, you must miss out a certain amount of workdays and the disability has to last a certain period of time. If you skip less than a few days from work, you're not going to get lost wages. Also if you have an injury that heals in just three full weeks, you're not qualified to temporary benefits. If you do suffer a personal injury that manages to keep you out of your job for a prolonged period of time, then you will get compensation. However, this compensation is not your full salary. Rather you get approx two-thirds of what you were earning at the time of the injury. If the medical professional says no work at all, at that time you receive 66.67% of what you were earning at the time of the accident. If the physician claims you can work with restrictions AND the Employer is not able to accommodate those limitations, you may receive 64% of your salary. But if your Boss is able to accommodate those limitations and you are making 80% of your pre-injury earnings, you get no reimbursement. So bottom line is that if you are missing work due to a work-related accident, you will lose earnings. The lengthier your impairment, the more wages you can lose. Unless you settle your case at some point, those lost paychecks are gone for good and will definitely not be recovered.

So let's claim that you've cleared the hurdles of being a worker that's injured or hurt in the course and scope of your job by an accident that arose out of work, what do you obtain? To be entitled to lost wages, you must miss a particular amount of work and the incapacity has to last a certain period of time. If you miss less than a week from your job, you're not going to collect lost wages. Also if you have a trauma that heals in less than three weeks, you're not entitled to temporary benefits. If you do sustain an accident that places you out of job for a lengthy time, then you will get compensation. Having said that, this compensation is not your entire paycheck. Instead you receive around two-thirds of what you were earning at the time of the personal injury. If the health professional says no work at all, at that time you receive 66.67% of what you were making at the time of the injury. If the doctor suggests you can work with restrictions AND the Business is not able to accommodate those limitations, you will obtain 64% of your salary. But if your Boss is able to accommodate those limitations and you are making 80% of your pre-injury wages, you get no compensation. So bottom line is that if you are missing your job as a result of a work associated accident, you will lose earnings. The lengthier your impairment, the more earnings you can lose. Unless you settle your case at some point, those lost wages are gone for good and will definitely not be recovered.

A further constraint on your chance to obtain lost wages is that those benefits are only paid for a particular period of time. Once you have attained maximum medical improvement, which is the physicians way of suggesting you're on the right track now, you do not get anymore temporary benefits. Despite the fact that you have not returned to work or your position is no longer available, your temporary benefits end. If you receive an impairment rating caused by a permanent injury, you will receive permanent impairment benefits, however, those benefits are less than the temporary and they are very short lived. They normally just last a matter of a few weeks or months. Just very handful of injured workers, the most severely hurt, have a chance of obtaining long-term permanent benefits called permanent total disability.

Every time it pertains to medical care, your rights or benefits also have significant constraints. If you have injuries that calls for emergency care, at that point you can get that care without first getting Company or workers' comp carrier authorization. Shortly after that initial medical care, who you see for health care is not your decision. Your Employer or often its workers compensation insurance carrier may notify you exactly who you can treat with. If you don't prefer the medical professional they choose, then you may get a one-time change but that's it. On top of that, you don't get to pick that next doctor either. One more time the work comp insurance carrier picks the physician. You can get what is called an IME, or "independent medical doctor", but you have to pay for that health care provider out of pocket. Your health plan won't cover it.

At least one of the few positive aspects of the health care is that you do not pay for it period, other than a $10 copayment as soon as you reach maximum medical improvement. The insurance company is responsible for all other expenses of treatment including prescribed medicine and physical therapy. Still as you have the ability to probably see now, workers' comp is not an outstanding program. It's also a complicated system.

If you find yourself in the work comp system, you're better off getting advice and perhaps a lawyer sooner rather than later. Errors made in the workers' comp system may be very difficult or even impossible to unwind. And also a number of errors can mean the end of your case altogether. Therefore, if you have a workers' comp injury, speak with us as soon as possible. The consultation is completely free, and you are under no commitment to hire us. In the case that you do hire us, you won't be out of pocket for any fees or costs. We only gets paid when we get benefits for our clients!

We Don't Get Paid Until You Get Paid