What Happens If I Hurt My Back At Work?

If you hurt your back at work, you may seek money through a workers’ compensation claim. In some cases, those injured at work can file a lawsuit. Focus on healing your back and protecting your mental health and hire a workers’ comp lawyer to oversee your claim or lawsuit.

Back injuries can leave you with little time to deal with insurance companies or handle the other aspects of your claim or lawsuit. Trust a proven Jeffersonville workers’ compensation attorney to seek the compensation you deserve.

What to Do After Injuring Your Back at Work

A back injury can happen in many professional fields, especially those involving rigorous physical exertion. Once you realize you have suffered an injury, take the following steps.

Seek Medical Attention

Medical attention can’t wait, especially with an injury as complicated as yours.

You should:

• Go to an urgent care facility, hospital, or other medical provider
• Explain how your back injury happened
• Explain any symptoms you are experiencing
• Request medical imaging (this can provide irrefutable evidence of your injury and be necessary to provide an effective treatment plan)
• Request precise instructions from the doctor about how to treat and recover from the back injury

If the service or attention you receive from a medical professional doesn’t work, seek further care elsewhere. You need to have the right providers document your injury in as much detail as possible.

A workers’ comp attorney might even help you find a qualified medical professional who cares for injured workers.

Inform Your Employer About the Injury

Your employer may need to file a workers’ compensation claim with their insurers.

You need to inform your employer of your injury so:

• Your employer can file the claim
• You establish exactly when and how your injury happened
• Your employer can create an official record of your injury

The insurance company may look for such formal notice of your injury before providing the compensation you deserve. Also, the sooner your employer files the workers’ compensation claim, the sooner your attorney may secure compensation for you.

Find a Lawyer to Pursue Compensation for Your Losses

This is a critical step. Your health is vitally important, and you will consider your health by seeking medical attention. Your financial health is just as important. Hiring a lawyer will ensure you’re giving due attention to your financial recovery.

Hire a lawyer as soon as possible because:

• You should focus on your health rather than an insurance claim or lawsuit
• Your attorney will immediately protect you during the insurance or legal process
• Your attorney will work hard to obtain fair compensation as soon as possible

Your lawyer may need to gather many types of evidence and documentation right away. When you hire your workers’ compensation lawyer, you allow them to start building your case right away.

Keep Any Documentation of Your Accident or Injury

As you receive medical treatment and move forward from your accident, you may receive:

• Incident reports related to your injury
• Medical bills
• Images of injuries
• Other evidence and documentation that is relevant to your claim or lawsuit

Keep anything relevant to your case. Your attorney may use these materials as they build your claim or lawsuit.

The Importance of Hiring a Lawyer After a Work-Related Injury

Pain from back injuries can be debilitating, though each injured party’s experience can vary significantly. Even if you believe your pain is manageable, you can benefit from hiring a back injury lawyer because:

The Insurance Company May Lowball or Deny You

While some injured workers undergo a smooth path to compensation, this is not always the case. Insurance companies have a business to run and may not think twice about lowballing you.

The insurance company can:

• Deny your claim based on policy-related reasons
• Claim that you caused your own injury through horseplay or impairment
• Refuse to cover certain losses (like medical treatment)
• Offer significantly less compensation than you deserve

Work injury lawyers are familiar with these tactics, which are not rare. Your lawyer will have several tactics for addressing such bad-faith maneuvers by the insurance company.

You May Need to File a Lawsuit (or Even Go to Trial)

Some work injuries are the fault of negligent third parties. Victims of third-party negligence may sue those third parties.

If you are one of those victims, your attorney can:

• Draft and file your lawsuit
• Negotiate with liable parties
• Proceed to court, if necessary

Lawsuits are complex, and lawyers have the necessary training and experience to handle them.

Recovery Is Always the Priority

Whether you are disabled or you will recover from your injuries, nobody can care for your health like you can. If you don’t decide to prioritize your physical, psychological, and emotional health, you may find that recovery stalls or regresses.

When you hire a back injury lawyer to help, you:

• Have more time to pursue the many treatments for back injuries
• Can rest rather than worry about dealing with insurance companies or building your claim
• May recover more quickly because you are avoiding added stress and sticking to your treatment plan

Ideally, you will heal and return to work as soon as possible. If your lawyer succeeds, you will have the financial support to move forward from your work injury.

Your Law Firm Will Support Your Case Financially

Work injuries can hurt. The financial uncertainty that results from an injury may cause just as much stress.

Your chosen law firm will provide direct and indirect financial support for your case by:

• Spending significant time and energy crafting your case
• Covering administrative expenses like filing fees
• Hiring experts to reconstruct your accident, testify about your injuries, or assist in other ways
• Covering the cost of a lawsuit and trial

You may find this financial support priceless, especially considering the existing financial stress you’re experiencing.

You Can Lean on a Lawyer’s Experience with Back Injury Cases

Experience allows us to master our craft and overcome professional challenges. This is true of injury lawyers whose experience can greatly benefit your case.

Injured workers deserve to focus on their health above all else. Let a proven lawyer take your case for compensation off your hands.

Ways to Receive Compensation for a Work-Related Back Injury

Your workers’ compensation lawyer will consider the reason for your accident when they advise you to either:

• File a workers’ compensation claim
• File a lawsuit

A lawyer must have all relevant information about your case to advise you properly. They will determine whether your employer has workers’ compensation insurance. They will also consider whether a third party’s negligence led to your injury. A third-party claim might make additional compensation and damages available to you.

Once your lawyer has the necessary information, they will explain their case strategy.

Damages That Can Result From a Third-Party Claim for a Back Injury

The effects of a back injury can limit your movement, cause severe pain, and diminish your quality of life. Your injury can also cause significant financial harm, and your lawyer’s mission is to obtain the compensation you deserve for economic and non-economic damages from any third parties who were negligent and caused your injuries.

Your recoverable damages may include:

Medical Bills

Back injury victims may need:

• Ambulance transport from the scene of an accident
• Emergency medical care
• Back surgery
• Physical therapy
• Care from medical specialists
• Other medical services

The cost of medical care is notoriously high. Your attorney will seek compensation for the direct cost of your injury-related medical care.

Lost Income

Your back injury lawyer will measure the professional cost of your injury. Your lost income will be among the harm they seek compensation for.

Diminished Earning Power

If you return to work in a limited or altered capacity, you may earn less compensation than before your back injury. Your attorney will evaluate any pay difference and seek appropriate compensation from the liable parties.

If you have any other professional damages, such as the loss of opportunities for overtime pay and promotion, your attorney will include these damages in your case.

Pain and Suffering

Back injuries can be intensely painful and affect virtually every aspect of your life.

Your pain and suffering may include:

• Acute and chronic pain from your back injury
• Psychological distress
• Emotional anguish
• Lost quality of life
• Depression (which may result from your chronic pain and inability to live life normally)

Attorneys know that the psychological and emotional effects of a back injury can be severe. Your legal team will partner you with a mental health professional who can accurately diagnose your pain and suffering.

Disability-Related Damages

If your back injury is disabling, you may experience other economic and non-economic damages, including:

• In-home caregiver services
• Long-term rehabilitation
• Medical equipment costs
• The cost of installing ramps or other features in your home
• The cost of a disability-friendly vehicle

You may also need lifelong income replacement because of a disabling back injury. Trust your attorney to calculate the entire cost of your injury.

How a Work Injury Lawyer Will Fight for You

Your attorney and their team will lead the fight for your financial recovery. You can rest while your lawyer:

Obtains Evidence of How Your Work-Related Injury Happened

Your legal team will secure any evidence relevant to your workers’ compensation claim or lawsuit. Witness accounts of a work-related accident, video footage of the accident, incident reports detailing your injury, and any other evidence will become part of your case.

Documents and Values Damages from Your Back Injury

Your lawyer will build a detailed record of your damages.

Proof of those damages may include:

• X-rays and other medical images showing your back injuries
• Doctors’ diagnoses of your injuries
• Medical bills detailing the cost of your medical care
• Experts’ testimony about your future medical costs, lost income, and other damages
• A mental health expert’s diagnosis of your pain and suffering
• Past income records detailing your lost income

If any other documentation helps your case, your attorney will gather and incorporate it into your claim or lawsuit.

Negotiates a Settlement with the Insurance Company (or Another Liable Party)

Your lawyer will be the one negotiating with the insurance company (in a workers’ compensation case). If you sue liable parties, your lawyer will negotiate with those parties or their attorneys. In either case, your attorney will bring all relevant documentation and demand the money you deserve.

Leads Any Necessary Lawsuit

If you file a lawsuit, your attorney will oversee every step. From filing the suit to negotiating with liable parties and evaluating settlement offers, every responsibility will be your lawyer’s to bear.

Completes Any Necessary Trial

If you file a lawsuit against a negligent third party and the case goes to trial, trust your lawyer to secure fair compensation from a jury.

Don’t Wait to Hire Your Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

You have plenty to worry about after suffering a work-related back injury. Allow your lawyer to worry about securing the compensation you deserve. They will waste no time starting your case, so find your workers’ compensation attorney today.

Schedule a Free Initial Consultation Today!