You Could Be In For A Settlement On DC Workers’ Compensation

The Thought Of A Settlement Can Lead To Many Questions…

Most people don’t know that there is often a settlement at the end of a workers’ compensation case in Washington, D.C.

When people get hurt at work, especially with heavy-duty jobs, they aren’t thinking about five years down the road.

They are asking key and nerve-racking questions. What will happen to my job? How am I going to provide for my family? How long am I going to be out of work? What happens if I can’t go back to work? What happens if my job doesn’t offer light-duty?

All of these things are immediate and completely legitimate concerns. Most people don’t know that if you have the right attorney and if you follow the rules, you could be in for a settlement that will help allay your fears, both for the short-term and the long-term. Unfortunately, however, many people get so hamstrung by their short-term concerns that they sabotage their long-term prospects.

Here are a few ways that people do this. They don’t follow doctor’s orders and go back to work before they are healed, they commit fraud on workers’ compensation by taking a side job under the table because their benefits are delayed or denied, they simply don’t get medical treatment, they blithely follow the recommendations of their insurance adjuster, not understanding that the adjuster’s job is to limit their benefits and rush them back to work before they are cleared by their doctor, and they sign up quickly with what we call a “mill” attorney who will sign them up without reviewing their medical records, and then “run them through the mill,” without paying particular attention to their case.

It Is Important To Think Clearly About Your Next Steps

There are all kinds of unintended consequences that come from making these hasty, anxiety-driven choices. You could sabotage your settlement a year from now by not getting proper medical treatment. You could sign up with an attorney who isn’t really invested in fighting for your benefits. (I could write an entire book just on things I’ve heard from clients who started with mill attorneys and came to us later). You could fall into the trap that the insurance adjuster has laid and wind up not being authorized for medical treatment.

That’s why it’s so critical that if you have a serious injury that will prevent you from working and you might need surgery down the road, do your due diligence and hire the right attorney. Check out their reputation online – do they have any five-star reviews on Google? Have they written and published any free materials that will educate you on the process? Do they investigate your case before signing you up for representation?

If the answer is “no” to any of these questions don’t walk – run. It’s better to sacrifice a little time and deal with the anxiety for a short period while doing your due diligence to hire the right lawyer than to hire the wrong one and put your future in the hands of someone who doesn’t really care about your case.

Especially if you are a high-wage-earner and/or require surgery. The insurance adjusters are going to be doing everything they can to shut down your case because you are going to cost the insurance carrier a lot of money.

Do your due diligence with us – and I can answer the first three questions for you. Yes, we have almost 200 5-star reviews from clients, former clients, and people we have helped over the phone. Yes, we have a suite of free books, guides, and reports that you can order free of charge to get educated on the system and make an informed choice. Start with “Protect Your Rights” and go from there. Yes, we investigate our cases before signing them up, so please be prepared to send over your medical records if you want us to review your case.

There’s no cost or obligation to having your case reviewed by us but you can suffer heavy consequences if you sign up too quickly with another lawyer. Don’t just take our word for it – call us today at 202-393-3320. If you have your medical records ready to be reviewed you can be guaranteed that one of our well-trained paralegals will review them and let you know what they think your next steps might be within a few business days.

But you’ve got to be okay with waiting. If you have a serious injury, it will be more than worth it.