Workplace Injury Attorney

If a person has been injured at the workplace in Alabama, they should speak to a workplace injury attorney and a workers comp attorney. One of the first questions to address is whether they incurred the injuries as part of a work-related task.

A person injured while engaging in a work-related task may file a workers comp claim even if the injury was their fault. In Alabama, a workplace with five or more employees, other than contractors, must have worker’s comp coverage. A person who was injured engaging in an activity that was not work-related may file a personal injury lawsuit. For example, if an employee was at an office on their day off to visit a friend and slipped on a wet floor, the employee might have grounds for a negligence claim in a personal injury lawsuit. They would not have grounds to make a workers comp claim. 

Under a workers comp claim, a person can recover compensation for medical bills and lost wages. Under a personal injury lawsuit, a person can recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, and damages for pain and suffering resulting from the injury. 

A person can file both a workers comp claim and a personal injury lawsuit in Shelby County, or anywhere else in Alabama. This is because an injury that may be covered by the employer’s workers comp insurance is the fault of a third party. For example, if a catwalk collapsed and an employee fell, the employer’s workers comp insurance would cover the claim. The employee could sue the employer and the contractor who did the work to maintain the catwalk in a personal injury lawsuit.

Workers comp is a specialized area of administrative law. Workers’ comp matters are heard by administrative law judges, usually in different places than the civil courthouse. It is important for a Plaintiff’s injury attorney and the worker’s comp attorney to both be present when the plaintiff is deposed, or testifies under oath. This is because the workplace injury attorneys for both cases need to be aware of what answers the client is giving, in real-time, which could affect both types of legal actions. 

In Alabama, the statute of limitations for a workers comp claim is two years from the date of the injury or two years from the date of the last compensation payment. The statute of limitations for a personal injury lawsuit is two years from the date of the injury. The injured party has roughly the same time frame to file both types of actions. 

After a workers comp claim has been approved, the employer is responsible for paying medical bills associated with the injury. If an employee is claiming damages under workers comp, they must submit to medical examinations arranged by the employer.

It is important that an injured person retain counsel in both types of actions to understand how the actions affect one another. Workers comp law is particularly complex. The particularities of such cases are less familiar to a layperson than personal injury law. 

The first thing a person who is injured at a workplace or in the course of their work duties should do is seek medical care. They should retain all records relating to their injury. They should also follow the advice of their doctor. The injured person should avoid posting any information on social media about their injury, recovery, and activities, like leisure activities on the weekends. Anything they post could be used to diminish a settlement or undermine their claim. 

Next, the injured person should retain a workers comp attorney, a personal injury attorney, or both types of attorneys. Since workers comp law is so specialized, it is rare to find a local Birmingham injury attorney who practices workers comp and personal injury law. The injured person should sign a consent statement that will allow their two attorneys to share information and records. The injured person should also sign medical releases with their healthcare providers to allow their attorneys to receive medical records relating to the injury. From this point forward, the two injury attorneys should work together to coordinate legal actions. 

The injured person should not attempt to negotiate a settlement without the help of their workplace injury attorney. The injured person should also avoid being deposed or talking with opposing counsel without their Bessemer injury attorney present. Further, the injured person should talk with their attorney about the conditions under which they should return to work. It is important that dangerous conditions that led to the injury be addressed and that workplace accommodations or modifications for the injured party.