In the state of Alabama, any company with five or more employees is required to have a workers’ compensation insurance plan. This includes both full-time and part-time employees, but excludes contractors. Workers’ compensation ensures that people who are injured performing work-related tasks will have their medical bills paid by the employer. If injured workers are unable to work, they also receive two-thirds of their weekly pay. Workers’ compensation payments start after the employee has missed three days of work. In return for prompt medical care and wage reimbursement, employees are not permitted to sue their employer for damages.
An employer must certify that the injury is work-related for these benefits to begin. If an employer refuses to agree that an injury is work-related, the injured person should hire a workers’ compensation attorney in Mobile, AL. The lawyer will determine if they should file a lawsuit or appeal the decision through the Alabama appeal process. If an employer refuses a claim, the Alabama Department of Labor can have an independent examiner review the case. Then, they can issue their findings on the disputed issues. However, these recommendations are non-binding on the employer.
If a worker is seriously injured on the job, he or she may want to hire an attorney from the very beginning to ensure his or her rights are protected. An injured worker who doesn’t understand the process may lose his or her right to benefits. For example, the business and insurance company pick out the doctors the injured person can use. This means that the doctor may have an added incentive to find that the patient can return to work before they are fully healed. Even if one doctor agrees that the patient cannot work, the insurance company can require the patient to have an independent medical examination to confirm or overrule this finding. Their lawyer will make sure they have a fair review.
A person’s workers’ compensation payment is determined by their weekly pay, during the past 52 weeks. If a person has not worked for that company for 52 weeks, the company may select the wages of a comparable employee. The workers’ compensation attorney in Mobile, AL, will ensure the employee made a similar wage. Gene T. Moore is one of the lawyers who represents injured workers in Mobile. Workers can call him for a free consultation.
