Hurt at Work? The Rules are Different!

If you are involved in a car accident, slip-and-fall, trip-and-fall, medical malpractice claim, products liability claim, or others, the “regular” case is brought in court. However, if you are injured in the course of your employment, in order to obtain compensation from your employer, you typically cannot bring a “regular” lawsuit. Instead, it is important to retain Ak Compensation Lawyers to make sure the different laws and procedures are followed.

You are a construction worker on a job site when the scaffold put up by your employer gives way. You fall and suffer significant injuries.

OR

You are employed as a domestic worker in somebody’s home. As you are cleaning in the bathroom, the sconce falls and causes injuries to your head.

OR

You are driving your employer’s van when the brakes fail to function properly, causing you to crash and suffer injuries.

These are all work-related injuries and, as such, are required to follow the workers’ compensation route as opposed to the traditional lawsuit. With different rules, procedures, players and decision-makers, it is advisable to have experienced Ak Compensation Lawyers prosecuting your claims.

Similar to a traditional lawsuit, you will still have to prove that the accident was your employer’s fault and that you actually sustained injuries. Further, you will have to gather evidence to do that, in the form of accident reports, photographs, witness statements, medical records and the like in order to prove your case.

However, unlike the traditional lawsuit, you will not be in a court. There will be different (and usually more relaxed) rules regarding introducing evidence. There may be awards for (i) lost wages and (ii) medical bills, as opposed to the pain and suffering, wrongful death and other issues typically involved in court-venued lawsuits.

And knowing the players is also important. It will be simple for an arbiter or other attorney or staff member in the workers’ compensation arena to know that your attorney is not experienced in such practices and procedures, and this is something that is likely to harm your case. Likewise, attempting to bring a workers’ compensation claim on your own is perilous and could lead to a significantly reduced award, if not completely obliterating your chances at all.

For these reasons, Ak Compensation Lawyers are not only available, but are nearly as important as the evidence itself to give you the best chance at success. And without a quality award, you stand to cause suffering (financial, emotional and other) to you and your family. There is no reason for this to have to happen.