Which attorney to hire is an important question about an important choice. A choice so important, in fact, that a favorable outcome in your case could very well depend upon it. Some law firms handle Workers’ Compensation matters as a ‘side job’ of sorts; to pay the light bills and hope that it leads some other, more valuable case. Retaining a law firm that dabbles in five or ten different areas of law to handle a Workers’ Compensation claim seems sort of like hiring a knee, shoulder and hip specialist to operate on your brain. Some law firms use television ads and big billboards to clamor for the attention of the injured masses, hoping to land new Workers’ Compensation clients. At the end of the day, however, judges and insurance companies really don’t care whether or not your attorney is on TV. They’re interested in knowing if he’s good at what he does.
Believe it or not, there are Workers’ Compensation claimants out there who know basically nothing about the lawyer they’ve hired to represent them in their case. They just saw some ad somewhere, and then signed on the dotted line. When they call for information about their case, their “lawyer” may be “out,” and they’re shuffled over to some assistant who may or may not know anything of value about either the law or the claim. At Hart Law, we want to know our clients, and we want them to know us. When our clients call the firm, we know who they are, and we know about their case. We believe that our clients deserve a very high level combination of legal skill and customer service; and we deliver that, every single day. Insurance adjusters respect our work, and when we appear in court on your behalf, the folks there already know that we are experienced, successful, and highly skilled.
You may only have one shot at picking the right workers’ compensation attorney. Before selecting one, it’s important to know what (and who) you’re actually getting. At Hart Law, what you see is exactly what you get. Workers’ compensation law is what we do.
Neal L. Hart, Attorney at Law
So, how much do lawyers charge to help settle AR Workers’ Compensation claims? It’s a really good question, especially when you’re hurt, unable to work and you’re trying to keep the bills paid. Every dollar matters, right?
Well, the truth is, attorney’s fees don’t amount to near as much as you might think. Many people think AR Workers’ Comp is the same as personal injury law, where the attorney gets 1/3 of the total settlement. But that’s just not the case.
In fact, an attorney gets a relatively small portion of the Workers’ Compensation settlement amount. For starters, the fees charged by an attorney to represent an injured worker in an Arkansas Workers’ Compensation claim are set by state law at 12.5% from the injured worker. And sometimes even this fee is negotiated during settlement to be paid by the insurance company.
It’s also helpful to know that there are no “up front” charges, or fees. In fact, a claimant doesn’t owe their lawyer a dime unless he/she collects money on their behalf – either through settlement, or by asking a judge to force an insurance company to pay benefits they have wrongfully denied.
For answers to more of your Workers’ Comp questions, check out these FAQs, or call 1-800-520-5874. We’re here to help, even if we don’t represent you.
Back and neck injuries are very common in Arkansas workers’ compensation law. More importantly, spine and joint cases can be very valuable for settlement purposes. The main reasons is that these types of work injuries are often the most problematic, because they can involve long, painful healing periods and produce substantial permanent impairment.
Here are 5 very important things to know about back and neck injury settlements, as well as the insurance company playbook before getting too far along into the AR workers’ comp claims process:
Workers’ compensation claims that involve back and neck injuries can be very valuable for settlement purposes.
- Workers’ compensation claims that involve back and neck injury settlements can be quite valuable. In fact, the average settlement for joint and spine injuries can substantially higher than you might think.
- Insurance companies know this, and act accordingly, by immediately sending folks with spine and joint injuries to orthopedic doctors they think will help end these claims as quickly and as cheaply as possible. In fact, the insurance company will often hire a “nurse” to meet the injured worker at his, or her doctor’s appointment, at which time the nurse routinely goes into the examination room with the claimant, and then talks one on one with the doctor about the case.
- If the insurance company doesn’t like what the treating doctor has to say, the patient is sometimes sent for an Independent Medical Examination, again with a doctor chosen (and paid for) by the insurance company.
- Insurance companies want to keep back and neck disability ratings low; the healing periods short; and spine surgeries to a minimum. In the meantime, while the back and neck claims are being potentially dismantled beyond repair, the insurance company and its nurse sometimes tell the claimant that hiring an Arkansas workers’ compensation lawyer to protect them in the case simply isn’t necessary.
- If this scenario doesn’t sound quite right, it isn’t. It’s totally legal, but it’s not even close to totally fair. The insurance company may have a legal right to dictate the path of an injured worker’s initial medical care, but it doesn’t have the absolute right to dictate the direction, or the outcome of his or her case.
Knowing all this, it’s not surprising, really, that one of an insurance companies biggest nightmares is when injured workers with severe spine and back injuries seek the advice of a workers’ compensation lawyer early on in the claims process – especially from a lawyer who is already extremely familiar with the typical insurance carrier game plan and how best to counter it. At Hart Law, we already know the insurance company’s playbook. Which is why it’s so important to consider getting legal advice from an experienced workers’ compensation attorney when you have back and spine injuries.
For more information check out the Frequently Asked Questions (link to https://hartlawfirmllp.com/#faqs ), or give us a call 1-800-520-5874.
“Do I have a case?” is a common question in Arkansas workers’ compensation law. Just being injured on the job is rough enough. But then an insurance adjuster comes calling, followed by “official” looking forms in the mailbox. Sometimes a benefit check in some strange amount arrives, and sometimes one doesn’t. Doctors’ appointments are scheduled, or the claim is just outright denied, without much explanation at all.
The answer is yes, you may very well have a case. In fact, it my be a significant workers’ compensation case that involves or has the potential to involve maximum damages under our Workers’ Compensation Law. It is doubtful, however, that an insurance company is ever going to tell you this.
At Hart Law, we will.
By: Neal L. Hart, Attorney at Law
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