Blog posts of '2022' 'August'

Your job duties may involve a lot of physical labor that leaves you vulnerable to on-the-job injuries. Whether it is a back injury caused by heavy lifting or an accident with heavy machinery, there may come a time when a workplace injury leaves you unable to work and in need of medical care.

You may have heard that workers’ compensation benefits are available in such situations. These benefits can cover the costs of your medical treatment and, in some cases, compensate you for the time you are unable to return to work. Your first instinct may be to see your own doctor for this care, but are you allowed to do so and still be eligible for workers’ compensation?

Who can I seek treatment from if I’m injured at work?

If you are seeking workers’ compensation benefits you must see an authorized physician for your medical care. This is a physician authorized by your employer and their insurance carrier for the treatment of on-the-job injuries.

If you are injured while at work, you should let your employer know of the injury as soon as possible. Your employer will let you know which doctor to seek your initial treatment from. Your employer’s insurance carrier will then advise you on which doctor to seek follow-up care from. If your injury lands you in the emergency room, make sure to give them your employer’s contact information.

You do not want to initially see your own primary care provider if you are injured at work. Doing so could jeopardize your eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits. Any physician you see must be authorized by your employer or their insurance carrier.

Seek treatment from an authorized physician

One of the primary benefits of workers’ compensation is the payment of medical care. However, you may be limited in which physicians you see. Your primary care provider may not be authorized by your employer or their insurance carrier. Ensuring you see the correct physician is key to ensuring you can collect workers’ compensation benefits.

In Florida, many people earn a living working in construction. The work is plentiful and lucrative. Still, there are inherent dangers with this type of work. Trusting co-workers, being around heavy equipment, using difficult tools and being high off the ground are just some of the challenges that must be considered when on a construction site.

Falls are the cause of a significant number of catastrophic injuries and death. A recent survey highlighted just how many problematic falls are and why construction workers think they happen. This information could be important not just for safety and avoiding accidents but when there is an accident and a worker is seeking workers’ compensation benefits.

Survey suggests why construction falls happen

The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) and the Center for Construction Research and Training oversaw a survey to analyze falls on construction sites. According to the analysis, there are six key reasons why falls occur.

More than 27% of respondents asserted that there was a failure to do the right type of planning or the plans that were crafted were ineffective and put workers at risk of falling. This is connected to workers not having the right safety equipment to prevent falls. If employers did not adequately plan for the job, workers were 71% less likely to have fall prevention equipment.

Almost 49% of those who took part in the survey said there was no fall protection of any kind when falls happened. The employers were deemed responsible for the workplace culture dedicated to safety. If safety was a priority and fall prevention a focus, the likelihood of workers using fall safety equipment was multiplied by eight.

If workers are educated in rescues after a fall, the chance of a fatality from a fall was reduced by more than three-quarters. Subcontractors were the most egregious violators of safety practices. A subcontractor employee had almost triple the chance of a fall-related fatality than workers employed by a general contractor.

Workers’ compensation claims after a construction accident may require help

Construction workers who are on a jobsite in any capacity should be fully aware of their rights if they are injured. Workers’ compensation benefits can cover for lost wages, medical expenses, vocational rehabilitation and more. The process can be complicated and maximizing benefits might be challenging. The insurer could deny the claim or there could be other obstacles to maximizing benefits. For advice with pursuing a claim after a construction fall or any other workplace injury, having professional representation is imperative.

Recovering from a serious car accident can take time, effort, and a lot of money. You might be forced to endure a significant amount of pain and suffering, too, which can be completely overwhelming. You might be left struggling to figure out how to provide for your family, secure the medical treatment that you need, and put your mind at ease.

Although you might be able to recover compensation from the negligent driver who caused the wreck, sometimes these individuals simply aren’t able to pay for the full extent of the damages that they have caused you. That’s why you need to consider against whom else you can file a claim.

Florida’s dram shop liability law

If your injuries were caused by someone else’s drunk driving, you might be able to hold the establishment who served alcoholic beverages to that driver liable under Florida’s dram shop law. However, Florida’s law is not as broad as many other state laws on this issue. Whereas many states allow you to seek compensation from an establishment if it served alcohol to a customer who was visibly intoxicated and that driver subsequently caused an accident, Florida only allows you to hold the establishment liable if you can show that it served an individual who it knew was addicted to alcohol.

This also means that you can’t sue an individual who served alcohol at a private function for the negligent driving of an intoxicated driver. This might seem unfair, especially if the person who caused the wreck continued to be served alcohol well after the point of intoxication, but that’s the state of the law.

Proving a dram shop case

 As you can see, the restrictive nature of Florida’s dram shop law can make it difficult to succeed on a claim against an establishment. But it’s not impossible. You’re just going to have to put in a lot of work to try to show that the establishment either knew or should have known that the individual who caused the accident was habitually addicted to alcohol consumption.

You may be able to show this by obtaining records and surveillance footage from the establishment over a significant period of time, showing that the driver who caused your accident was a regular at the establishment and regularly drank to the point of intoxication at the establishment in question.

However, if your accident was caused by an intoxicated driver who is under the age of 21, you can prove your dram shop case simply by showing that the establishment served a minor. That’s a much easier hurdle to clear, which you again may be able to demonstrate through alcohol purchase receipts, recordings from the establishment and witness testimony.

Pursuing your dram shop case

 Keep in mind that there are time limits on when you can bring a dram shop liability claim. That means that you can’t sit on the sidelines too long, otherwise you’ll miss your opportunity to potentially recover the compensation that you need and deserve.

With that said, we know navigating your claim can present a whole host of challenges. But that’s why law firms like ours are here to help. You’ve been cheated out of your normal life for far too long, and personal injury attorneys want to try to make that right.

So, if you want an aggressive advocate on your side who is willing to go toe-to-toe against those who have caused you harm, now is the time to reach out to learn more about how to prepare your personal injury case.