Workers Compensation Lawyer Blog

3 Tactics a Company May Use to Harass an Injured Worker

November 4, 2019 By James Hoffmann Leave a Comment

For many injured workers, their problems get worse when they return to work.

An employer or insurance company representative should never tell you not to file a claim for worker’s compensation. Legally, they should not sway a worker against claiming something that’s well within their rights. If this has happened to you, speak with an experienced work injury lawyer.

Sometimes filing a claim is the easy part. Unfortunately for some injured workers, the problems don’t stop there. In fact, they may start when they go back to work.

Here are 3 tactics companies can use to harass injured workers you need to watch out for:

Keep Changing Your Workload

Your employer cannot fire you because you got injured and had to take time off work. However, if the doctor clears you for light-duty, which means that even if you’re not 100% recovered you can still perform some work activities, then your employer may offer a temporary position that accommodates your condition.

Some times this offer is genuine and can allow you to work until you are fully recovered. Other times, workers may not be so fortunate. The employer may offer a modified job that keeps getting modified and, soon enough, you may end up with a workload that’s at least similar to the one you originally had before the injury.

Creating a Hostile Environment

Again, your employer cannot fire you. But you are free to quit your job, and the employer may be under the impression that it’s best you do. While they cannot do it themselves, they may try to create a more hostile environment to make you want to leave.

You may be scolded more often or your employer may have irrationally high standards when it comes to your job, but the same requirements do not apply to your colleagues.

Every Tiny Mistake Gets Blown out of Proportion

People make mistakes on the job; it’s unavoidable. But when even the tiniest of mistakes are made a big deal by the employer, they may be trying to fire you and make it seem like it was warranted.

An employee cannot be fired for getting injured and being on worker’s comp. However, if they are unable to perform the tasks required for them, then employers may think this is a work-around to fire the employee anyway. Thankfully, with the help of a lawyer, you can prove if you were illegally discharged and sue your employer for wrongful termination.

Speak With a Work Injury Attorney

Blatant or sneaky, it doesn’t matter. You should not be treated differently for filing a worker’s comp claim. It’s best to work closely with a St. Louis work accident lawyer throughout your case. They can offer the best legal advice relevant to you, and even prevent some of these tactics from being successful. Call us 24/7 at (314) 361-4300 for a FREE consultation.

How Long Do I Have to Be Employed to Recieve Workers Compensation Benefits

November 1, 2019 By James Hoffmann Leave a Comment

The insurance company will go to great lengths to save money and avoid paying the compensation you may be legally entitled to.

Everyone wants to make a good first impression at their new place of employment. But when you’re new, don’t know the environment just yet, or maybe don’t have enough work experience, it can be easier to make mistakes.

And if these mistakes result in injuries, and you be wondering if you are entitled to workers comp.

What Does the Law Say?

Missouri workers’ compensation laws make no mention of the length of employment a worker should have to be eligible for compensation. As a result, it makes no difference if you were working there for two years, two days, or two hours – if you get injured on the job, it’s likely well within your right to file a compensation claim.

Instead of how long you were an employee, the law focuses on:

If you were actually an employee – Independent contractors or freelancers, for instance, are considered self-employed and are generally not covered by their employer’s workers comp. They can purchase this protection themselves.

If the injury is work-related – the injury needs to have taken place while you were at your place of employment, and while you were performing your duties. In some cases, they may even apply while you were on a break, as long as you can prove it was unavoidable (like, for instance, the fact that you’re not allowed to leave the premises during breaks)

If you are an exempt employee – some workers, like railroad workers, are covered by federal laws, not workers comp, which is a state law.

In other words, if you’re an employee, got injured on the job, and your employer is one of those entities obligated by law to carry these benefits, then you can file a claim for compensation. How long you’ve been an employee is not important to approve a claim.

Some May Not See It That Way

Just because there is no mention of it doesn’t mean the insurance company won’t try to use the length of your employment as a way to deter you from accessing worker’s compensation benefits. They may investigate how exactly you got hurt, talk to coworkers, and even suggest that you were responsible for the accident.

Still, you should not take these as reasons not to apply for compensation. Worker comp is a no-fault system. The insurance company may try to use your lack of legal know-how to trick you.

How to Get Compensated

To avoid any bumps in the road ahead, you should consider hiring a St. Louis workers comp attorney and letting them represent your case. This way, you can avoid making mistakes or falling prey to the insurance company’s tricks, and get the treatment for your work injury, as well as other benefits you may be legally entitled to. Give us a call 24/7 at (314) 361-4300 for a FREE case evaluation.

The Most Common Cause of Industrial Accidents and How to Avoid Them

October 15, 2019 By James Hoffmann Leave a Comment

An industrial job often comes with higher risks, meaning an injury in these environments could potentially have devastating outcomes.

You can work in one of the most careful businesses around, where every health and safety code is respected to the letter, all the time. Even so, accidents can still happen.

For the industrial industry, there are three main causes of workplace accidents: negligence, incompetence, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Understanding Why These Accidents Happen

In the case of negligence, it means someone failed to do something they were supposed to do, which is why you got hurt. For industrial jobs, it can be things like:

Not offering the proper equipment
Not supervising certain processes
Lax safety rules
Failure to improve processes even after accidents took place in the past, etc.

Incompetence, however, has to do with a person’s own lack of knowledge and skills that may have lead up to the accident. For instance, let’s say a construction worker has to teach a new colleague how to use a concrete saw. The new worker was given the job by his uncle, the supervisor, but has no real training. The young worker then makes a mistake and gets the worker who was supposed to teach them hurt.

That young worker is guilty of incompetence – they had no real training, no skills that recommended them for the job, etc. The employer, however (the uncle), can be found negligent because they knowingly let an untrained and inexperienced worker onto the site.

Then there’s being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In these instances, even though everything is up to par, something just goes wrong, and you get caught in the crossfire. A piece of equipment may malfunction, you may slip, or just develop an illness after years on the job.

How to Avoid These Accidents

The right safety measures can effectively lower the risk of industrial accidents, but you should know it will never fully go away. At least when it comes to the two of the common causes of these accidents, negligence, and incompetence, there are some things you can do:

Speak up when something is wrong, such as when a coworker is breaking a safety rule
Get in touch with OSHA and file an official complaint
Always pay attention to your surroundings
Don’t rush your task, as that can make room for mistakes
Always follow safety regulations and never cut any corners
If you feel proper training was not offered, insist on it

Have You Been Injured?

An industrial job often comes with higher risks, meaning an injury in these environments could potentially have devastating outcomes. If you were injured on the job, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation to cover your medical treatment and, in some cases, even for partial lost wages if the injury prevents you from going back to work for a while.

Get in touch with a St. Louis work injury lawyer as soon as possible to learn more about your legal options and ensure your rights are protected. Call the Law Office of James M. Hoffmann 24/7 at (314) 361-4300 for a FREE case evaluation.

Are Actors and Artists Covered by Workers Compensation?

October 14, 2019 By James Hoffmann Leave a Comment

If you are an actor or an artist and got injured while performing, it’s understandable if you’re not sure what to do.

Workers’ compensation laws are meant to protect workers in Missouri. Should a worker get hurt or ill, as long as their condition is directly linked to their work, their medical treatment should generally be covered by workers’ compensation.

However, not everyone is covered under these laws. Case in point: actors and artists. Are you covered?

The Answer Is: It Depends

Missouri workers’ compensation laws, just like the ones in other states, don’t apply to any type of worker. For instance, only businesses or companies with five or more employees are legally obligated to have this coverage. For the rest, they can choose not to. Other sectors, like religious institutions or workers covered by federal laws (like railroad workers), are also excluded.

For actors and other artists, the law does not specify whether or not they should have workers’ compensation or not. It’s important to consider the type of employment to see if they fall under the categories that should have these benefits.

For instance, if you are employed by a theatre company with more than five employees, then your employer legally has to offer workers compensation. It doesn’t matter if you’re a part-time or full-time employee – the law is applicable either way.

However, many actors and artists may not be considered employees in the legal sense. They may fall under the freelance form of employment, in which case workers’ comp laws do not apply. Freelancers and independent contractors are excluded from workers comp laws because they are considered to be self-employed and have more autonomy than regular employees.

Ask Your Employer

Even if you fall under a category that isn’t legally required to offer workers comp benefits, it doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have it. You should ask the producer, employer, or supervisor if you do, just to be sure.

Many employers choose to carry workers comp insurance because it can also protect them in case something goes wrong. If you get injured and get compensated for workers comp, your medical issues are being addressed, and the employer is protected against any further legal actions against them.

What Should You Do?

If you are an actor or an artist and got injured while performing, it’s understandable if you’re not sure what to do. Your best option is to reach out to a St. Louis work injury lawyer who can review your case and advise the best legal action. If it turns out you are not covered by these state benefits, your lawyer can help you pursue other legal actions that could provide some financial support to help you get through this ordeal. Give us a call 24/7 at (314) 361-4300 for a FREE case evaluation.

Should I Report “Minor” Work Injuries to My Employer?

October 11, 2019 By James Hoffmann Leave a Comment

When it comes to work-related injuries, it’s important to always report your injuries, no matter how small they may seem.

When you hear about work injury claims, you may imagine life-altering injuries or conditions that render a person unable to sustain themselves. While these claims are not an easy thing to go through, they aren’t reserved only for extreme cases.

When it comes to work-related injuries, it’s important to always report your injuries, no matter how small they may seem. If you worry that your report will not be seen well by your employer or if you question its utility yourself, here are the pro arguments.

Your Employer Should Pay the Medical Expenses

Whether it’s a small or a serious injury, your medical expenses should generally be covered by your employer’s insurance company if the accident happens while you were performing work duties. Worker’s compensation exists to protect you from financial struggles due to work injuries. It also makes your employer responsible when it comes to workplace safety and protecting their staff, so knowing and demanding your rights is the best thing to do.

You May Get Complication in the Future

You might not think your injury is worth filing a report for if you get a puncture or a backache, let’s say. However, if your minor injury aggravates (gets infected or turns out to be something more serious), not filing a report can affect your workers’ comp claim.

Covering Time off Work

Whether it’s at the time of the injury or later (due to complications), taking time off work for treating your minor injury should generally be covered by worker’s compensation. If you don’t report your injury, your employer might ask you to still go to work, which can aggravate your medical problem.

File a Report Immediately

Filing a report right after (or as soon as possible) the incident occurred makes your employer acknowledge the injury and thus you can prove that they are aware of it. If you don’t file an official report (preferably a written one), your employer can deny ever knowing about it or even it happening at your workplace.

You Will Make Your Workplace Safer for Everybody

If you think that a minor injury is not worth pursuing, imagine that you just got fortunate. Many times, small work-related injuries are a symptom of poor risk management from your employer. If you don’t file a report on your small injury, the risks are still going to be there and the next time someone might not be as fortunate. Filing a report is the responsible thing to do and it should not get you in trouble.

If you believe that filing a work injury report makes your employer treats you differently, get in contact with a St. Louis work injury lawyer 24/7 at (314) 361-4300.

Recognizing the Early Signs of a Work-Related Ruptured Eardrum

October 9, 2019 By James Hoffmann Leave a Comment

A ruptured eardrum is a hole or a tear in the thin tissue that lies between the ear canal and the middle ear (the eardrum).

st. louis worker with a ruptured eardrum

Some work accidents can have rather clear cut cases; slip and falls are one such example. Someone spilled something on the floor, and you did not notice, slipped, and broke your leg. Missouri workers comp law says you can generally get benefits to take care of your injury because the accident happened at work.

However, other injuries or work accidents aren’t as clear and may create some difficulties in trying to get a claim approved, especially if you don’t even realize you’re sick in the first place. For instance, an eardrum rupture, which you may not recognize at first, but when its symptoms get worse, you’ll most likely need a lot of medical attention.

What Are the Symptoms?

A ruptured eardrum is a hole or a tear in the thin tissue that lies between the ear canal and the middle ear (the eardrum). At its worst, a ruptured eardrum can cause permanent hearing loss, though it can also make the middle ear more susceptible to infections. A ruptured eardrum can heal on its own, even without treatment, though in severe cases they may even require surgery to be repaired.

Here are some common symptoms:

Drainage from your ear, which can be bloody, or even clear
Hearing loss
Ear pain
Ringing in your ear
Vertigo (a spinning sensation)
Nausea or even vomiting

How Does This Happen?

In a workers comp claim, whenever there’s an uncommon injury like an eardrum rupture, you can expect the insurance company to take notice and investigate.

Eardrum ruptures are examples of uncommon work-related injuries, but that doesn’t mean that they cannot happen. Here are some instances where you’re more at risk of having one:

Direct blows to the head/ear
Changes in air pressure, such as when you frequently have to fly for work
Acoustic trauma, created by loud blasts, explosions, or other very loud noises
Foreign objects getting lodged into the ear

Eardrum damage seems like the kind of thing workers need to protect themselves from, but your employer may also be responsible for them. For instance, if you work in a very loud environment, and your boss did not offer appropriate protective gear, you may suffer from an eardrum rupture because of it.

You need to pay close attention to the signs of an eardrum tear and get medical attention at once. It can prevent permanent hearing loss, but it will also help the workers’ comp claim. The longer you wait, the harder it may become to prove your injury is work-related.

Speak With an Attorney

If you suspect you have a work-related eardrum tear, you should get in touch with an experienced St. Louis work injury lawyer for legal advice. These cases can be quite complex, and have a well-established procedure you should abide by. Having an experienced attorney on your side can help protect your claim right from the start. Give us a call 24/7 at (314) 361-4300 for a FREE case evaluation.