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Getting Compensated for A Snow and Ice-Related Accident at Work

Getting Compensated for A Snow and Ice-Related Accident at Work

February was an epic month for bad weather in Arkansas, and around the Nation.  A significant number of workers’ compensation claims each year are the result of slips and falls on ice and snow.  Many of these accidents cause serious injury, a lengthy period of lost time from work, and/or substantial permanent impairment.  These claims are also routinely denied by insurance companies, using the defense that the employee wasn’t technically “working” at the time his accident occurred.  Falling on ice in a parking lot at work probably tops the denial list; however, these types of work injuries may very well be compensable workers’ compensation claims, i.e. the insurance company is just trying to rip you off.

If you’ve had an injury at work related to snow and ice, you may need help from an experienced workers’ compensation law firm.  We’d be glad to visit with you to discuss your options, free of charge, any time.

Neal L. Hart, Attorney at Law

Are You Leaving Cash On The Table?

At Hart Law, we get the privilege of visiting, on a daily basis, with many, many people about their past and present workers’ compensation claims.  One story we hear more often than you’d think goes something like this:   “I had a workers’ compensation shoulder surgery in 2012, and when the doctor told me I was as good as I was going to get, I just went back to work and never followed up with my claim again.”  While it’s admittedly conscientious to get back to a job and work hard at it, the person in this example probably left cash on the table in his workers’ compensation claim.

Workers’ compensation claims are hard on working Arkansans because our Workers’ Compensation Law is exceptionally unfair to our honorable working class.  Despite what insurance companies repeatedly try to claim, the workers’ compensation system is not a slot machine or cash cow for injured workers.   Injured working folks are entitled to a specific set of limited benefits after being hurt on the job, including benefits for having an injury that is permanent, and insurance companies aren’t exactly stumbling all over themselves to voluntarily give these benefits away; particularly if a workers’ compensation claimant is content to basically abandon his or her case.  Arkansas workers are a proud bunch, and rightfully so.  They shed their sweat and blood for their employers, every day.  When they get hurt on the job, they deserve to be compensated, fully.

At Hart Law, we don’t leave cash owed to our clients by insurance companies on the table; and we can help make sure you don’t either.  We’d be happy to visit with you about this, either by telephone or e-mail, pretty much anytime.

Neal L. Hart, Attorney at Law

What If I Can’t Get A Lawyer To Take My Case?

We hear this question quite a bit.  Unfortunately, our Workers’ Compensation Law has, for several decades, been pretty unfair to working folks.  Many disputed workers’ compensation claims are either hard to win, provide insufficient benefits to the employee, if won, or both; creating an unfortunate situation wherein a fair number of hard working Arkansans simply can’t find a lawyer willing to take their case.  Although having a lawyer isn’t absolutely necessary in a workers’ compensation claim, folks who proceed without one ultimately run the risk of getting run over and overwhelmed by the insurance company and its attorney.  The system allows a claimant to proceed without a lawyer, in a pro se capacity, and our Administrative Law Judges always go out of their way to be helpful in this regard.  However, judges can’t serve as your attorney, and they are legally bound to hold an injured worker to the burden of proving his case, regardless of whether he has counsel or not.  At Hart Law, we fight hard for working folks and we’ve been known take cases other lawyers either don’t want or haven’t handled very well and then returned to the client.  If you’re having difficulty finding a lawyer to take or keep your case, give us a call.  We’d be privileged to visit with you about your options.

Neal L. Hart, Attorney at Law

Can I have an Arkansas Workers’ Compensation claim if I live outside the State of Arkansas?

The answer is very possibly.  We’ve been practicing workers’ compensation law for years and years here at Hart Law, and have represented many people during that time period who were not Arkansas residents; yet they still had Arkansas workers’ comp claims.  Many of these hardworking folks have been truck drivers, who typically live wherever; drive all over the country doing their job; and then return to their home cities when they have time off.  The Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission will typically accept jurisdiction over an Arkansas work injury claim if the contract of hire was made with a company here, or if there are enough other contacts between the injured employee and this State.  So, if you work for a company with a presence in Arkansas but you get injured somewhere else in America or around the world, you may very well be entitled to receive workers’ compensation medical benefits, temporary total disability benefits and/or permanent partial disability benefits under the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Act.  If you live in another state and think you may have an Arkansas claim, give us a call and we’d be glad to visit with you about your options.

Neal L. Hart, Attorney at Law

Many Thanks To Our Clients

Many Thanks To Our Clients

At Hart Law, we really like our clients.  They’re good, hard working folks who we genuinely enjoy getting to know as we’re helping to guide them through their workers’ compensation claims.  Without our clients, there would be no Hart Law.  We go the extra mile because we’re privileged to have such great people to represent, and we’re eternally grateful for their business and support.  Thanks for being a part of the Hart Law family.

Neal L. Hart, Attorney at Law