Archives for August 2016

If you’ve been hurt on the job and need to apply for workers’ compensation benefits, but you’ve heard from others that it can be a complicated process and that most claims are denied. It’s true—employers and insurance companies have a vested interest in not paying workers’ compensation benefits and will look for every opportunity to reject your claim. That’s why it’s so important to hire the right attorney to handle your case. Here’s what you should seek in counsel.

Make Certain Your Lawyer Focuses on Workers’ Compensation

The workers’ compensation process has its own set of rules and if you don’t follow them, your claim can be denied or delayed. Don’t hire a general practitioner who may not be familiar with all the inner workings of the workers’ compensation system. Verify that your attorney has extensive experience handling workers’ compensation cases.

Make Certain You Hire an Experienced Trial Lawyer

The skills required of a trial attorney are different than those of a transactional lawyer. You want a lawyer who has skill and experience at oral argument, who can think and respond at the spur of the moment, and who is well-versed in the rules of trial procedure.

Make Certain Your Attorney Be Available and Accessible on a Regular Basis

You’ll have questions throughout the process and you need to know that your lawyer will respond to your calls or e-mails in a timely manner. Confirm that you’ll have direct access to the attorney, and won’t be dealing with a paralegal, secretary or inexperienced associate.

Know What Approach Will Your Attorney Take in Court

Some lawyers will aggressively advocate for you in every proceeding, while others prefer to negotiate an outcome that meets your needs. Be sure that your lawyer will take whatever approach is necessary to get the benefits you need.

Contact Our Office

At Taylor & Boguski, we bring more than 70 years of combined legal experience to injured workers throughout New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 856-200-8989.

When you suffer an injury or illness that’s job-related in New Jersey, you have a right to seek benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation system. It may even be your exclusive remedy, which means that you can’t file a lawsuit in court to recover for your losses. But if you’ve never hired a lawyer before, or even if you have, you can have significant concerns about the costs of retaining counsel. Chances are pretty good that, because of your work injury, things are already pretty lean financially. That’s why it’s important to know just what it will cost you out-of-pocket to pursue a workers’ compensation claim.

As with most personal injury claims, workers’ compensation cases are typically handled on what is known as a contingency basis. This means that, instead of billing you on an hourly basis, your lawyer will usually take a percentage of any amount recovered on your behalf. There’s usually no requirement that you put any money down to initiate the process, either (known as a “retainer”). Because your attorney gets paid more if you get paid more, there’s the added incentive to maximize your recovery.

The final determination as to how much you will receive will be made by either the workers’ compensation judge or the Workers’ Compensation Board. As a general rule, the only out-of-pocket costs you’ll have will be filing fees or any costs associated with obtaining evidence, such as court reporter fees if depositions are required. But you won’t incur any fees for your attorney’s time.

Contact Our Office

At Taylor & Boguski, we bring more than 70 years of combined legal experience to injured workers throughout New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 856-200-8989.