If you have a Kentucky workers’ compensation claim involving a significant injury (one that will put you out of work for two weeks or more), you are going to need a workers’ compensation lawyer to maximize your recovery. It’s not just whether or not your claim is approved — how much compensation you end up with matters too. Following is an overview of the process.

Overview of the Claim Process

Filing and resolving a workers’ compensation claim requires the following steps:

• Seek medical attention immediately. It is impossible to prove an injury without evidence, and there is no better evidence than medical evidence. Be sure to keep all of the paperwork you receive, including medical bills. You are free to use your personal physician unless the circumstances are inappropriate (if you need a trip to the emergency room, for example).
• Notify your employer “as soon as possible” (this is the exact statutory wording). You will need to provide basic information such as the identities of people involved in the accident, the date and time of the accident, the circumstances, etc. The sooner you notify your employer, the sooner you are likely to receive workers’ compensation benefits.
• Your employer files the claim on your behalf to the Kentucky Department of Workers’ Claims. It is unlikely that your employer will ignore this responsibility, since he could be subject to significant liability if he did.
• You will probably need to negotiate with your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company for an acceptable settlement. Any settlement must be approved by the Department of Workers’ Claims before it becomes binding. Most claims are resolved this way.
• If you cannot reach a settlement agreement, a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will be scheduled, where you can present your case.
• If you are not satisfied with the ALJ’s ruling, several levels of appeal are available, culminating with the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

How Your Lawyer Can Help

Your lawyer can help you through this process in many ways, including:

• Gathering evidence: In law, nothing matters unless you can prove it, and that requires admissible evidence, especially medical evidence. Your attorney should be an expert in identifying and gathering such evidence.
• Negotiating a settlement agreement on your behalf. Although only you can approve a settlement agreement, your Kentucky workers’ compensation attorney can negotiate the agreement for you and submit it to you for your approval. It is a good idea to let him do this, because the insurance company representatives you will be negotiating against will almost certainly be professional negotiators.
• Representing you at a workers’ compensation hearing. Hearings and appeals are subject to complex rules of evidence and civil procedure, different even from many of the rules in ordinary civil court proceedings. Your workers’ compensation lawyer should be intimately familiar with these, and Glenn Martin Hammond is.
• Providing you with legal advice. You might be able to sue a third party in civil court, for example, and receive significant compensation for pain and suffering damages that are unavailable under the workers’ compensation system.

Act Quickly

If you believe you might have a valid workers’ compensation claim, contact Kentucky personal injury lawyer Glenn Martin Hammond immediately, by calling (606) 437-7777 or by filling out our online contact form. We serve clients in Lexington, Pikeville, Winchester, Paris and elsewhere in the state of Kentucky.And remember — if we don’t win, our services will be free of charge.