In Florida, employers must provide workers’ compensation insurance to protect any employees who sustain serious injuries on the job. Sometimes, however, employers may fail to provide the legally required benefits, or the insurance company may deny a valid claim.
If you are struggling to get the workers’ compensation benefits you deserve, a Jacksonville personal injury lawyer from the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can help with your claim. We offer free consultations, so there is no risk to you in reaching out.
Call today to schedule a free consultation with a workers’ compensation lawyer in Jacksonville.
We Offer Free Case Reviews to Injured Workers in Duval County, Florida
You understandably have a lot of questions about pursuing workers’ compensation. That’s why we offer free case reviews to prospective clients. During this free, no-obligation conversation with a legal representative, you can learn about:
- How our team will combat your case’s challenges
- How much it costs to partner with our team (nothing up front or out of pocket)
- The benefits of partnering with our team
- How long it’ll take to resolve your case
- What damages you can pursue
Of course, we’re more than ready to answer any other questions you may have.
It Costs You Nothing Out of Pocket to Partner with Our Injury Team
Missing work can strain your financial resources and negatively affect your mental health. Wondering how you can afford a lawyer can only add to an already stressful situation. So, the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine offers legal help on a contingency-fee basis.
So, in this payment arrangement, here’s what you can expect from us:
- We will listen to your story during your free case review.
- If you decide to partner with us, we’ll get started on your case immediately.
- We will not request any starting fees, hourly rates, or retainers.
- If we resolve your case, we will take a portion of your settlement as compensation for our help.
We will be completely transparent about all matters regarding your case––including payment. If you ever have any questions about your situation or our contingency-fee arrangement, feel free to give your Duval County workers’ compensation lawyer a call.
Does My Employer Have Workers’ Compensation Coverage?
Florida Statutes § 440.02(16)(a) defines an employer as “every person carrying on any employment.” This includes government agencies and municipalities, public and private companies, and employment agencies. While the statutes do make some exceptions, virtually all companies with four or more employees must provide workers’ compensation coverage for their workers.
Unfortunately, some companies allow their policies to lapse or fail to pay their premiums. Although the law may require that your company carry this insurance, that does not always ensure that you have coverage.
Check Whether Your Employer has Workers’ Compensation Coverage
The Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) Employee Assistance Office offers a helpful information page that lets you check your employer’s workers’ compensation coverage status. This resource also lets you check if the law requires your company to provide coverage and provides an option to report an employer’s non-compliance.
If your employer failed to maintain workers’ compensation coverage, leaving you without a way to pay for medical treatment for an injury, our Jacksonville attorneys can help. The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can take care of everything for you so you can focus on recovering.
Am I Eligible for Workers’ Compensation?
If you work as an employee for any company that must carry workers’ compensation insurance in Florida, you are likely eligible for benefits.
State law excludes some categories of workers from coverage, including domestic workers in someone’s home, some seasonal agricultural laborers, certain small farm laborers, professional athletes, people performing community service, and independent contractors not employed in the construction industry.
You Could Run into Conflict If You Are an Independent Contractor
The independent contractor exception triggers many legal challenges every year, as employers sometimes abuse this exception to save money on workers’ compensation insurance premiums.
The presence of an independent contractor agreement is often insufficient to make this legal argument if the individual in question does not meet the statutory criteria of an independent contractor. If your employer refuses to provide coverage because you are not an employee, we can determine whether you have a right to this coverage.
Does My Injury Qualify for Workers’ Compensation?
Under Florida Statutes § 440.09, your employer must provide workers’ compensation coverage for any “compensable” accidental injury you experience in the course of performing your job. It also offers coverage to surviving beneficiaries who have lost loved ones.
Here are some conditions under which you might not qualify for benefits:
- Your injury was a pre-existing condition.
- You were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- Your injury occurred while you were committing a criminal act.
- You were not using the required safety equipment when your injury occurred.
Carriers may also deny your claim if you contributed to your injuries by behaving irresponsibly. For example, if you and a co-worker were roughhousing, and one of you sustained an injury, the insurance company may deny your claim.
If you sustained injuries on the job, your injury should qualify for workers’ compensation coverage.
You may also have coverage for any life-threatening or chronic illness you develop after exposure to a hazardous substance on the job. If your employer’s Workers’ Compensation insurance is refusing to cover your injury, contact us as soon as possible to preserve your legal rights and get the benefits you need.
What Benefits Can I Get?
The attorneys from the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can explain the benefits you qualify for after a workplace injury. In general, workers’ compensation will pay medical and wage replacement benefits to injured workers.
Workers’ Compensation Can Cover Your Medical Bills
According to the DWC, medical benefits pay for authorized, medically necessary treatment and care for a compensable injury or illness. This typically includes:
- Your doctors’ visits
- Testing
- Required hospital stays and procedures
- Physical therapy
- Medication
- Related medical costs
These benefits only cover services from authorized doctors and providers, however.
Workers’ Compensation Can Cover Some of Your Wages
According to the DWC, wage replacement benefits help when your injury prevents you from returning to work for more than seven days.
This benefit compensates you for two-thirds of your weekly wages—or up to 80 percent of your wages for severe injuries—but not more than the average weekly wage in Florida. For 2022, the maximum benefit is $1,099 per week, according to the DWC. Once your doctor releases you to return to work with restrictions, wage compensation converts to a partial payment.
Workers’ Compensation Can Cover Other Losses
You also have access to workers’ compensation disability benefits, should your injury prevent you from ever returning to work, as well as death benefits, if a spouse or parent passed away because of their work-related injuries, according to the DWC.
You May Have Suffered Injuries in One of These Situations
You might wonder whether your specific situation qualifies for workers’ compensation benefits. As noted, as long as you suffered harm within the normal scope of your job, you can generally seek benefits.
Examples of situations that may qualify for compensation include:
- You were electrocuted by a live wire.
- You fell from a significant height.
- You were injured on your job site’s premises.
- You suffered a repetitive work injury, such as carpal tunnel.
- You were exposed to a toxic chemical, such as asbestos, and developed a serious illness.
Other situations may allow you to seek compensation through a workers’ compensation claim or injury lawsuit.
How Do I File a Claim?
Although Florida Statutes § 440.185 allows you 30 days from the date of injury to report an incident, reporting any injury to your employer immediately is important for protecting your legal rights, according to the DWC. Likewise, seeking medical attention promptly will also help avoid further complications.
Your supervisor or your employer’s human resources department can help you locate an approved medical provider. However, if you sustain a serious injury, workers’ compensation will allow you to seek treatment from an emergency room or urgent care provider in most cases.
We Can Help You Get Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Our Jacksonville attorneys can help you understand medical treatment laws so you can get the benefits you need to recover from your injuries. We will help you collect the funds you need to pay your bills while you are out of work.
How Can a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Help Me?
Neither your employer nor their carrier will tell you that you have other options for compensation for a work-related injury, especially if the insurance company refuses to cover your injury or provide adequate care.
We Can Investigate and Gather Evidence
The workers’ compensation attorneys at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can assemble important evidence to support your claim, including:
- Accident and safety reports
- Photographs or videos of the accident scene
- Witness statements
- Testimony from medical experts
We Can Negotiate on Your Behalf
Using this information, we can negotiate with the insurance company to obtain the compensation you are entitled to. We will know the compensation you are entitled to going into settlement negotiations, so we know whether an insurance company’s offer is fair.
We Can Pursue a Civil Action
In some cases, we may also be able to sue your employer if the employer’s gross negligence led to or contributed to your injuries. We can also file a lawsuit if the company attempted to cover up any important facts or interfere with your ability to collect benefits.
In these cases, we usually have four years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit on your behalf, according to Florida Statutes § 95.11(3)(a).
We will meet with you at no cost to explain your options and help you make the appropriate choice for your future. Call us today to talk to a workers’ compensation lawyer in Jacksonville.
Duval County Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Accidents at work can happen at any time. Whether you work behind a desk or a construction crane, sustaining injuries at work can sideline your life.
If you have been injured on the job in Duval County, FL, you can seek the compensation you deserve by working with the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine. A lawyer from our Jacksonville office, located at 118 W Adams St, is ready to take on your case, no matter how difficult.
All Types of Duval County, FL Workers’ Compensation Cases Covered
The team of lawyers at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine understands that, for many, a job is a source of pride, accomplishment, and financial stability. Workplace injuries threaten all of those aspects and can occur anywhere.
Some of the most common work-related injuries with which our legal team has worked include:
- Broken bones, muscular/tendon damage, and burns
- Illnesses resulting from exposures to toxins
- Injuries resulting from repetitive motions or actions, such as tendonitis or hearing loss
- Severe incidents, like traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) or damage to the spinal cord
The Jacksonville legal team at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine is ready to speak with you about your claim and work from the very outset to preserve your rights and fight for the best possible benefits settlement.
Workers’ Compensation Benefits We Can Seek for You
Based on the nature and severity of your injuries, your workers’ compensation lawyer in Duval County, FL, from the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can fight for benefits including:
- Medical care, including prescription drugs, testing, and hospitalization
- Rehabilitative care, such as physical therapy
- Temporary disability benefits, including total and partial disability coverage
- Impairment benefits
Depending on the severity of your claim, we can also fight for permanent total disability benefits, death benefits, or if the sustained injury was not covered under workers’ compensation laws, file a lawsuit.
Navigating No-Fault Workers’ Compensation
The state of Florida mandates that most employers must provide workers’ compensation insurance for their employees to be covered if and when an injury occurs. This compensation is typically provided on a no-fault basis, meaning that when you are injured, you only need to provide evidence that you were on the job when your injuries occurred. This means that even if you were liable for the injuries you sustained, you can still file for workers’ compensation benefits.
However, these benefits will not kick in automatically, so it is imperative to document your accident as promptly as possible after it occurs. Florida allows you 30 days to report your accident to your employer, and to do so, you should establish:
- The cause and location of the accident
- The time and date of the accident
- The names of any witnesses
Following your report, your employer should request an independent medical examination to assess the nature and severity of your injuries. The outcome of this exam is often used as the basis for workers’ compensation benefits, but some insurance providers use these results to reduce or deny specific claims.
This is why it can help to reach out to the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine as soon as possible, as we can use our years of legal experience to help you navigate the complexities of the workers’ compensation process and receive the benefits you are entitled to.
Workers’ Compensation Appeals
The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can also help if you have already applied but have been denied some or all of your workers’ compensation benefits. Many times, insurance companies will deny claims if they feel they have evidence to prove, for example, that:
- An injury did not occur on the job site.
- An injury was due to a pre-existing condition.
- The injured party is fraudulently filing for benefits.
Remember that the insurance company is working in their best interest—your workers’ compensation attorney in Duval County, FL, from the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine is working for you. If you feel your claims have been wrongfully denied or limited, contact us so we can help you with the appeals process. We can assist in drafting the appeal and represent you during the appeals hearing process to fight for your compensation.
When preparing for such hearings, our legal team assembles a comprehensive array of evidence that reinforces why you are entitled to the benefits you requested. Materials we often incorporate include:
- Details of the accident, including witness statements
- Medical records that document the injury and your recovery
- Expert opinions from medical professionals as to your ongoing ability to continue to work
Hire a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Committed to You
At the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine, we go the extra mile to handle every aspect of your workers’ compensation claim with your best interests in mind. This means that we offer all of our clients the following:
Efficiency
We know that it can take time to build the best case to fight for your compensation, but we also realize that time is of the essence, so our team works as efficiently as possible to resolve your workers’ compensation claim.
Communication
We also guarantee that we will keep you in the loop with updates and will always be available to answer any questions you might have throughout the process.
Preservation of Your Legal Rights
We serve as your legal advocate to liaise between the involved lawyers, insurance companies, witnesses, and other parties while always keeping your best interests in mind. This means that you can focus on your own recovery with the confidence that your workers’ compensation lawyer in Duval County, FL, from the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine is fighting for you.
Can I Recover Pain and Suffering Through a Workers’ Compensation Claim?
Workers’ compensation does not cover pain and suffering. However, if you want to recover this expense, you could file a third-party claim or lawsuit. Whether you can do this depends on if you were harmed due to another party’s negligence.
So, consider the following scenario:
- You were working on a construction site.
- A defective power tool malfunctioned and caused you to suffer injuries.
Here, you could file a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury claim because:
- You were hurt while performing your job-related duties.
- The tool’s manufacturer failed to produce a safe product, making it liable for your losses.
If you have a successful personal injury claim, you can recover more than pain and suffering; you can also recover the full cost of your lost wages, mental anguish, and other related expenses.
Call the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine Today
If you suffered injuries on the job in Duval County, FL, you need to act quickly because, in addition to the law’s mandate that you report any injuries to your employer within 30 days, you have only two years to file your claim. Reach out to the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine today to schedule your appointment. Dial (904) 600-4000.
We Can Help.
