Bringing a workers’ comp claim in Saint Paul, MN should be simple, but unfortunately it often isn’t. It’s a bureaucratic process that involves a lot of steps and red tape; but a workers’ comp lawyer can handle every aspect of your case, from initial filing to potential appeal, protecting your rights and maximizing your recovery all along the way.
Conducting an Initial Consultation and Case Evaluation
The first step is a free consultation where the lawyer can assess your situation. During this meeting, your lawyer will go over all the details of your injury, look at your medical records, and evaluate your work history. The point is to understand your claim and all potential benefits. This also allows your lawyer to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your claim early on and create a strategy for preserving evidence, avoiding mistakes that could harm the claim, and keeping your claim maximized.
Assisting with Reporting and Filing the Claim
Reporting your injury and filing your claim is a key step, and you need to do this quickly. A lawyer can guide you so that every step is done properly and there’s no risk to your claim from making a mistake or delaying too long. A lawyer will help you document the incident thoroughly, keep up with your employer to make sure that they have filed a First Report of Injury (and make it happen if they have not), and then follow up with all important parties to keep things moving.
Gathering Evidence and Proving Causation
Your claim relies on establishing that your injury came from a work-related accident or illness, and this requires evidence to prove. You particularly require clear evidence if there wasn’t a single accident at the workplace that you can point to. If you have been harmed gradually over time, or if you were injured away from your regular place of work but on work-related duties, your lawyer will need to be able to prove why it should still qualify for workers’ comp.
Handling Denials and Disputes
If your claim is denied, your lawyer will first analyze all the reasons for the denial and then file an objection or request for reconsideration. If the claim is accepted but there’s a dispute about what benefits you are actually entitled to, your lawyer will present correct financial data and advocate for the approval of all treatments that your medical professionals believe are necessary and important for your recovery.
In some cases, employers have been known to push back against employees who claim workers’ comp with retaliation of some sort. Minnesota law protects you from retaliation, and your lawyer will work to protect you in this scenario as well.
Negotiating
Your lawyer can also negotiate directly with your employer’s insurer to make sure that you are getting all the benefits you’re entitled to, including payment of all medical expenses, your wage loss benefits, and anything else you might need, like permanent partial disability or vocational rehabilitation. Lawyers are negotiators by trade and much better equipped to protect your interests at the negotiating table than most lay people.For help with your claim, contact us at Frayne Injury Law in South Saint Paul, MN to set up a free consultation. We serve the Twin Cities and all surrounding areas.
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To help us best serve your inquiry, we recommend that you complete our work comp intake form: Click here. You may also email or call us to make an appointment. Our general response time is one business day.
