How You Can Build a Rock-Solid Case With Your Work Injury Lawyer

Workplace injuries are never fun, whether they’re a result of unsafe working conditions, equipment failures, or even employees’ mistakes. Even if you contribute to the accident, you can still recover fair compensation. That doesn’t always mean it will be easy, though. You’ll need a strong case to walk away with the best settlement possible, and a work injury lawyer in Houston knows just how to do it.

How You Can Build a Rock-Solid Case With Your Work Injury Lawyer in Houston

1. Report the Accident Immediately

Building a strong case starts before you even contact a lawyer. When you get injured, report the accident to your employer and your insurance company immediately. If you wait too long, your claim may be dismissed. Any resulting medical treatment could be delayed, resulting in permanent injuries. Don’t avoid reporting the accident if you think you are to blame for what happened. Your worker’s compensation should cover injuries even if you made a mistake.

Another possibility is that you may be working in a negligent or unsafe work environment without being aware of it. There are certain regulations that an employer is legally required to follow. If it is the case that your employer is not meeting its obligations for safety, reporting your accident in a timely fashion will ensure that the company is under scrutiny, not you. Haven’t reported your accident yet? Find out more about how a lawyer can still help.

2. Visit the Doctor

Don’t just tell your supervisor what happened. Make sure to get medical attention after an accident. Be honest with your doctor about what happened and the extent of your injuries. Giving specific details early on in the process will help you build your case later. Even if you think an injury isn’t that serious, disclose it to your doctor. Should it become worse later on, you will be on record saying that there was a problem.

3. Stay on Top of Your Recovery

Following your workplace accident, it’s important to focus on your recovery for more reasons than one. Aside from improving your mental and physical health, staying on top of the recovery process will make your case stronger. Your employer or insurance company may want you to attend medical examinations, and they will certainly investigate if your injuries require the amount of compensation that you’re seeking.

Keep up with your treatment plan and doctor’s appointments, whether that’s going to physical therapy twice a week or meeting with a specialist. It’s natural to want to push through the pain and try to live your life as normally as possible, but it won’t look good if your doctor tells you not to run with your bad knee and you go out for a 3-mile run every weekend.

4. Watch What You Post

Just as badly as you and your lawyer want to get a fair settlement, the opposing lawyers want to pay as little as possible to make your case go away. If there’s proof that your injuries aren’t as bad as you claim they are, the other side will jump on the opportunity to leverage this information in negotiations. Proof may be something like documentation from a doctor, but it can also be a Facebook post.

Say that you injured your back due to dangerous working conditions, and you’ve been in and out of physical therapy and doctor’s appointments. You’ve been told that surgery may be necessary. However, there are some days when the pain is more manageable. On one of those days, your partner snapped a photo of you giving your daughter a piggyback ride. If that photo goes online, it can be used to argue that you’re exaggerating your injuries and deserve a lower payout.

5. Keep Copies of Everything

You’ve told your employer what happened, you’ve visited the doctor, and you’re keeping your recovery process private. Now what? Collect a file of all documents that are relevant to your case. These include, but aren’t limited to, the medical records from your doctor’s visit, any communications you’ve had with your employer, and any paperwork you’ve filled out, like accident reports. What seems like a minor document now could end up making your case.

6. Trust Your Lawyer With the Negotiation

Most importantly, trust your lawyer to handle the negotiation process for your work-related injury. You’re better off letting someone with years of experience handle the communications. The opposing parties will likely try to put pressure on you to accept a low settlement offer or even drop the suit altogether. Any time your employer, the opposing lawyer, or an insurance company tries to contact you about the case, say nothing else but “Please contact my attorney.”

Accidents are bound to happen. When they do, don’t let your opportunity for compensation slip away. Get in touch with a work injury attorney who will relentlessly work on your behalf.