With almost all cases which go to litigation, there is someone who is found to be at fault and someone who is identified as the victim. When you’re hurt on the job, this can be a scary thought. While obviously you are the one who has been injured, you may be worried about your company showing that you caused the injury in the first place. This is a common concern for people who come into our office. Thankfully, we have been working this type of case for many years and know exactly how to handle the issue of blame when it comes to workers compensation.

One thing that makes it a little bit easier for us is that workers compensation is a “no fault” insurance. This means that in most cases there is no blame put on either party. Although it may have been a result of negligence on either group, this normally won’t affect your claim to reimbursement in whichever form is decided upon. Your reimbursement is typically paid out in one of two ways. This is either in wage reimbursement for the time you are out of work (which is typically two thirds of your normal salary), or in a lump sum. The lump sum is normally seen as compensation for either medical bills which may accrue or as payment for any partial permanent disability which may have resulted from your injury. Often in cases of workers compensation, both forms of payment are received by the victim.

Although the law states that an industrial accident is more or less a fact of life and therefore the fault of no one, many employers do take it upon themselves to go above and beyond what it required of them in regards to compensation. While they are required to pay for medical and rehabilitation services for anyone who is hurt under their care, many will also pay for work-hardening services which make it easier for the victim to return after a doctor has cleared them. This is because it has been shown to have a good investment turnover in the long run.

Although worker’s compensation does not find any specific person at fault, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hire an attorney to help you get everything you deserve. If you have been injured, call Collier and schedule your free consultation today.

While work is often hectic and crazy enough for most of us, it is certainly worse when you get hurt. Sustaining a personal injury at work is always a confusing and stressful time. There is always concern about where the money for treatment will come from and how you will continue to support yourself and your family while you are out of work. Thankfully, there have been laws put in place over the past century around the world which help to solve these exact problems. How lucky for you that Collier Law Firm specializes in these exact laws.

If you have been recently injured at work, you may have asked questions about what payment you can get through your employer. The chances are that you have been told that the only compensation that you will be able to receive is that from your company’s workers compensation insurance plan. While this is true in most cases, there are some situations in which you may be able to seek additional payments from a third party. While this doesn’t apply to every injury, it can certainly help you to gain more compensation in the event of a lengthy injury.

Some of these situations do involve injuries sustained while using a product. The chances are that if you were not harmed while operating something or working with a substance, you will not be able to collect from a third party. However, read on to see if you have a claim which you can file for additional compensation.

If you were harmed while using a product or device that was produced by a third party due to something going wrong with it, you may be able to seek payment from the manufacturer of that product. This is only accurate if the product was somehow defective or if the warnings were not accurately conveyed to you or your employer. Similar situations may occur if you were injured due to a toxic chemical. Whether the injury is acute (immediate) or latent (delayed), you may be able to seek payment if an injury or illness occurs.

In many states, any money that is won on a third party case must go to your employer’s insurance carrier as repayment for what they have sent to you. Sometimes, however, you get to keep what you have won. Call Collier today and see what we can do for you.

Once you are hurt on the job, there are many things that go through your head. While your thoughts normally should be on getting back to your old self, this often doesn’t work. Being injured is stressful and scary and seeing any medical bills that result from the injury can just add to these negative emotions. All of those dollar signs can keep you up at night and may even become an obstacle to your renewed health. While most doctors will tell you not to worry about that, it seems almost impossible not to especially if you are out of work for an extended period of time.

One of the first questions we normally get here at Collier is “How much am I going to get?” While we would love to be able to answer that question with an exact figure, the truthful answer is we just don’t know. There are many mitigating factors which go into a workers compensation case and it is almost impossible to predict just how much a client will come out with. You can rest assured, however, that we will work to get you as much compensation as possible under the laws which we have at our service.

One good thing is that some of these laws make it easier to calculate a base amount of money which you can receive. For example, once lost wage compensation is paid out, you will find that the average weekly rate is sixty six percent of your pre-injury pay. This is equivalent to two thirds, and as of 2017 the weekly amount is not meant to exceed $978.00. This maximum rate does change every year, however, and so if your claim lasts longer this amount will need to be adjusted. In the state of North Carolina, you are able to claim this weekly payout until you are able to return to work.

We know this information may not be what you were looking for under this title, but there are too many differences from case to case for us to give a confident and accurate number in an article. This is why we make ourselves available to schedule your free consultation with us. We want to do all we can to help you, and this is one of the best ways we know how. Call today and see just what we can do to protect you financially.

Farm laborers are vastly underappreciated and underrepresented in many states of our country. This was proven to be true prior to a ruling in New Mexico in June of 2015. The New Mexico Court of Appeals heard a case dealing with workers compensation for those who cultivated crops from farm land versus those who processed the crops for distribution. Those who processed the crops were covered under the New Mexico workers compensation laws while those who were actually cultivating and harvesting the crops were not. This was the case despite the fact that often these workers are standing side by side on the same farms or ranches.

The New Mexico Court of Appeals found that this situation was unconstitutional. Their statement was that the distinction came down to nothing but their job title and was “seemingly without purpose or reason”. This is especially true when one considers how much physical labor goes into each of these jobs and the chances for one getting hurt in one way or another on a farm or ranch. The Court found that there was little to no difference between the two job categories when it came to whether or not they should be covered by workers compensation laws and so the different treatments were eliminated. We are glad that New Mexico saw that those working on a farm, despite what their specific job titles may be, should be eligible for compensation in the event of being hurt while on the job.

In North Carolina, most businesses with three or more permanent employees, regardless of full or part time, need to provide workers compensation to those who work for them. Agricultural operations, however, are held under slightly different laws than the rest of the employers. This means that those who work on farms are not held under the same requirements and do not always receive compensation in the same way as others. In North Carolina, agricultural employers need to have ten or more full time non-seasonal workers in order to be held to workers compensation laws in the state.

Here at Collier, we always want to help you get what you deserve. Much like this recent ruling in New Mexico, we are always happy to hear about any victory for workers in regards to their compensation being fair and equal.