At Hart Law, practicing Workers’ Compensation Law is really important to us, because it’s really important to our clients. Workers’ compensation is what we do, and we work our files 7 days a week, because our clients deserve it.
When we agree to take your case, we’re not taking it hoping that you also have some other, better case for us to handle. We take your workers’ compensation case, because we really want to handle your workers’ compensation case. We value working folks, highly, and when they become our clients, we treat them like they’re a part of our family.
When we look around the Internet, it’s pretty obvious that other law firms that dabble in Workers’ Compensation Law come to our website for information, and sometimes even copy it as their own; and we’re flattered by this, frankly. It means that we’re educating the public, including other lawyers, and really doing something right. Any time we can help other firms with a workers’ compensation section learn something about the craft of handling workers’ compensation cases so that they can do their jobs better, it’s a win-win for all working Arkansans.
Keep working hard, Arkansas; but if you get injured and you can’t, we’d be honored to talk to you about how we may be able to help.
Neal L. Hart, Attorney at Law
Insurance Adjuster, speaking to Claimant: “You don’t need an attorney because I’m going to settle the case with you.” Unfortunately, we hear this story quite often. Insurance companies care about one thing – cash. They exist by making large profits, and they do this by paying out a whole lot less money than they take in. All insurance companies have lawyers who are on call, basically, to assist in this regard. They just love it when you don’t have one.
Because of the multitude of benefits potentially available to an injured worker under our Workers’ Compensation Act, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for an injured worker to even attempt to guess how much his or her case might potentially be worth. Insurance adjusters know this, so they try to run the settlement show, completely unimpeded. A typical scenario would be for the adjuster to send the Claimant a letter with various “calculations,” followed by an offer to close the case for a certain amount. Another tactic is to have their insurance lawyer (most of whom know a whole bunch about workers’ compensation law) approach the injured worker with a settlement number and an offer to draft a set of settlement paperwork for the Claimant to sign. With either option, one thing is pretty much for certain – these insurance folks probably aren’t going to just give away a bunch of money, unless they’re aggressively pressed to do so.
Although the Workers’ Compensation Act has a built in safety provision for injured workers, wherein all settlements have to be approved by a judge, the Commission has the authority to approve a settlement forged by an insurance company and an unrepresented Claimant for an amount that is at the very lowest end of the claim’s fair market settlement value, or even lower, so long as it is deemed to be in the Claimant’s best interests. Doesn’t it sound like a better option to arrive at the settlement hearing with a deal that’s on the very highest end of the claim’s fair market settlement value, or even more?
At Hart Law, we squeeze every dime of settlement cash out of insurance companies. Have questions about your settlement or how much your case could be worth? We’re here to help, anytime.
By: Neal L. Hart, Attorney at Law
Is that an injured worker will talk to an experienced workers’ compensation attorney right after he or she is hurt on the job.
Have questions about your work injury claim? We’re here to help, anytime.
By: Neal L. Hart, Attorney at Law
In Arkansas, some workers’ compensation injuries are considered, by law, to be “permanent,” and some are not. If an injured worker has a permanent injury, he or she may be entitled to receive a permanent impairment rating that is worth money, in the form of permanent disability benefits. Impairment ratings are usually determined by a doctor (they can also be calculated by a Judge) who uses a book to do so that is filled with complicated tables, graphs, numbers, and charts.
Sometimes, doctors simply get the impairment rating wrong. Often, insurance companies will try to get out of paying an impairment rating, either in whole or in part, by alleging that the rating is invalid under Arkansas law or failing to request permanent impairment all together. Many times, an insurance adjuster will write an injured worker who has a permanent impairment and explain the rating incorrectly; misstate the law; miscalculate the benefits owed; and/or advise that the carrier is only paying some or even none of the impairment rating. One reason insurance companies do this is because they know most injured folks have no idea about how impairment ratings work, and no idea how to correctly value them. Insurance adjusters also know that if there’s no impairment rating, the injured worker is going to have a very difficult time asking a Judge to award benefits for a loss of earning capacity; permanent total disability; and/or vocational retraining. These benefits can be very valuable.
If you already have a permanent impairment rating; are in the process of getting one; think you might have one; or think you may deserve one, we’d be glad to visit with you about ratings and your rights, any time.
By: Neal L. Hart, Attorney at Law
How Insurance Companies Try To Rip Off Injured Workers: A Series – Volume 4: Light-Duty Jobs
Under the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Act, employers have a statutory obligation to provide modified-duty work to injured employees who are in an active healing period and restricted from performing full-duty work, if the company is able to do so. If the employer provides the injured worker with a light-duty job and the employee refuses to perform same, temporary disability benefits could be suspended by the insurance carrier, indefinitely. So, how do many employers and insurance companies use this statutory duty to their advantage? They make up the worst light-duty job available and then order the injured employee to show up and do it, hoping it will cause him or her to immediately quit. Examples of some particularly shady light-duty jobs we have seen concocted in the past include: 1. Cleaning all the company toilets and then washing the human resource director’s car. 2. Feather dusting the shop, repeatedly; and then starting over and doing it again, once that’s been done. 3. Working in a soup kitchen, 75 miles from the Claimant’s house. 4. Sitting at a table sorting small screws, day after day. 5. Walking around the shop in circles, sweeping with one arm. 6. Sitting on a stool all day, in a dark room. Should the employer do this? No. Can they do this? It depends on how aggressive and experienced your workers’ compensation attorney is. If any of this already sounds familiar or you are concerned about a potential return to light-duty work, give us a call. We’d be happy to visit with you about your options.
Neal L. Hart, Attorney at Law
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