Salt Lake City Work Injury Lawyers

What Amounts to A Work Injury in Salt Lake City, UT?

Your injury might prevent you from working at your standard capacity, or if it is severe, you might not be able to work at all. On top of that, you have to take care of costly medical and rehabilitation expenses.

Our work injury lawyers will hold a free consultation with you to determine whether you have a valid claim and advise you on the way forward.

A work injury is any injury or occupational sickness suffered by a worker due to their employment.

Leading Causes of Workplace Injuries

Usual injuries suffered at the workplace include muscle strains and sprains, cuts and tears, and broken bone fractures. These could be caused by any of the following:

• Dangerous or dysfunctional equipment.
• Dangerous materials
• Lifting heavy objects or repetitive moves.
• Negligence.

It is a good idea to keep all incident reports and medical and other documents that can be used to support your claim.

What Are Your Rights As An Injured Worker?

A large part of workplace injuries is dealt with through workers’ compensation, through which workers can get compensation for injuries relating to their employment without seeking legal advice.

If you can prove that a third party was at fault, partially or wholly, for the injury, this can contribute significantly to the amount of financial compensation you can claim.  Workers’ compensation covers injuries your employer is directly or indirectly responsible for.

How Can Our Lawyers in Salt Lake City, UT Help You?

Sometimes the type of work you do puts you at a greater risk of injury, or maybe you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whatever the reason, you probably did not anticipate your injury. Your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance can sometimes cover the costs of your injury.

In reality, you could face some complications for the following reasons:

• Workers’ compensation sometimes does not take care of all your expenses.
• Your claim could be denied.
• You might need to institute a personal injury claim to restore your financial position to what it was before you got injured.

Our lawyers are well-versed in the applicable rules governing workers’ compensation.

If you find yourself in that position, you could speak to one of our experienced lawyers, who can advise you on your rights and how to enforce them.

What Compensation Are You Entitled to?

The type and extent of compensation you can get are listed below.

Medical Expenses

You can claim all medical expenses that are reasonable and were needed to treat your injury or illness.

This includes the following:

• Doctor’s visits
• Hospital costs
• Medicine and prosthetics devices
• Transportation costs.

Medical benefits are lifetime benefits because they cover all medical treatment needed for a workplace injury.

Your employer or insurance company can specify which doctor or hospital you should see for your first visit, particularly if they have informed you of a “preferred provider organization” (PPO).

You have to go there for your first medical treatment. If you do not, you could be responsible for a portion of the first treatment cost. After getting your first treatment at the PPO, you can get treatment from your preferred medical provider.

Temporary Total Disability Compensation

This benefit is paid when a doctor determines you cannot complete any work due to your work injury or illness.

Bear in mind that no compensation is dispensed for the initial three days after the work injury or illness unless that disability stops you from working for a time exceeding 14 days.

In that instance, you must be paid for your first three days of disability. This kind of compensation stops when you return to work, or your condition is stabilized.

Temporary Partial Disability Compensation

This is paid if your work-related injury or illness stops you from getting your usual full wage while you are recovering. For example, if you can only work for a few hours or do a light-duty job, you can claim temporary partial disability compensation over and above your wages.

Permanent Partial Disability Compensation

You can receive this benefit if your work injury or illness results in permanent impairment. This compensation starts after your doctor concludes that you are medically stable. The duration of your payment is decided after looking at an “impairment rating” given to you by your physician.

Permanent Total Disability Compensation

This benefit is paid if your work-related injury or illness causes a permanent disability that stops you from going back to your previous job or doing any other work that is reasonably available for you to do.

Indemnity

Workplace injuries lead to work absenteeism, which could result in lost wages. A worker is entitled to indemnity benefits through worker’s compensation. This helps the worker cover the cost of income losses. Compensation is a portion of your average weekly wage after considering the extent of your disability.

Death

When an employee dies due to a workplace injury or illness, worker’s compensation insurance administers weekly compensation to that worker’s husband or wife and any other dependents.

If an employee dies due to a work-related injury or illness, workers’ compensation will pay a portion of the funeral and burial costs.

The insurance carrier or self-insured employer could ask the dependent(s) for copies of marriage, death, and birth certificates. They may request divorce decrees if applicable.

Speak to us to find out what benefits you are entitled to.

Why Choose Us as Your Salt Lake City Work Injury Lawyers?

It takes a lot of time and effort to get back on your feet after an injury. Why add more stress and frustration to your life by handling your own legal matters? Our lawyers have the necessary skills and experience to fight your case.

Here are some reasons why we are more than capable of doing just that:

We Get Results: Our results speak for themselves. We pride ourselves on our 98% success rate.  Previously, we represented insurance companies, giving us an edge in knowing how they operate. We are lawyers who win at trial, so we are fearless in litigating if needs be.

Many of our cases have been settled at over a million dollars. While we cannot guarantee that amount on every matter, not every firm can boast of this kind of return. We have the strategy, experience, and steadiness to get these results.

One of our client’s husbands succumbed to injuries sustained from debris falling from a poorly maintained roof. Through our legal intervention, she was awarded 1.5 million in damages.

Client Testimonials: Word of mouth is a good indicator of how satisfied your clients are. Our clients have only the highest praise for us because we put them first.

Let’s look at some reviews:

“Unbelievable work! I had a claim involving my own insurance company. I tried to negotiate with them, and they completely denied my claim – two times. I then hired Strong Law, and the change was instant. The insurance company immediately began negotiating, and Jed was able to secure an unbelievably good settlement. I will never again attempt to take-on an insurance company without Strong Law in my corner. Thank you!” – Jonathon S.

“I want to thank Jed and Tory of Strong Law for their outstanding help with my case. The attention to detail and keeping me informed at all times made for a positive outcome. Thank you again for your help, determination, and hard work. I would not hesitate to recommend you to anyone in need of an excellent lawyer.”– Jaretta O.

Our Leadership: Jed Strong is our founder at Strong Law. He is compassionate to accident victims and their families because he understands what a traumatic experience is. This motivates him to fight for his clients so that they can recover the compensation they are entitled to.

Before acting for accident victims, Jed worked as an in-house attorney at GEICO insurance company. After learning the ins and outs of insurance companies, he resigned and began acting for accident victims.

“One of the main reasons I left GEICO and founded Strong Law is that working for an insurance company made me almost feel dirty. Whenever I would get a “good” result for the insurance company, it just meant that I assisted the company in preventing an injured person from recovering the compensation they were due. I quickly decided that the insurance companies had plenty of attorneys, and I could be a much greater help to society by putting my skills and talents to work for injured people, rather than insurance companies.” – Jed Strong

FAQs

You may have some nagging questions about your work injury. Below are answers to some common FAQs.

Does your employer have to get workers’ compensation insurance?

Employers are legally obligated to get workers’ compensation benefits through a workers’ compensation policy attained through a licensed Utah workers’ compensation carrier. Employers can also get self-funded workers’ compensation programs, but only after getting the necessary authorization from the Utah Labor Commission.

What makes you an employer? 

Any expressed, tacit, verbal, or written contract of hire creates an employer-employee relationship.

Are you covered if you work out of state?

In a few instances, Utah workers still benefit from Utah’s workers’ compensation laws when they work out of state.

Remember that states with reciprocal workers’ compensation agreements do not provide benefits to Utah workers who are injured while working for a while in those states. These include Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Maryland, Texas, Washington, Tennessee, West Virginia, California, and Oregon.

Besides that, Utah workers who are employed or often work in Utah can only be covered by Utah workers’ compensation law if they get injured during the first six months of working outside the state.

In exceptional circumstances, employers may increase coverage past six months via the Utah Labor Commission.

Which injuries and diseases can you claim through Utah workers’ compensation laws?

Accidental worker injuries that were not self-inflicted and that take place during the ordinary course of employment are protected by Utah’s workers’ comp laws.

Diseases and illnesses as a result of your employment and that are directly caused or worsened by your employees are also covered.

How can you determine who the workers’ compensation insurance carrier is for your employer?

Your employer has to display its workers’ compensation insurance carrier’s details at the employment site or mention that it is self-insured.

How long are you required to work to claim workers’ compensation?

Protection starts as soon as you commence work. You can claim workers’ compensation benefits for work-related injuries and sicknesses even if you have only been working for a short time or work only on a part-time basis.

Can your claim be denied because you were at fault for the injury?

Workers’ compensation operates on a no-fault system. That said, workers’ compensation does provide for self-inflicted injuries that were done on purpose. Disability compensation (excluding medical benefits) could be reduced for injuries arising from alcohol or drug abuse. Furthermore, disability compensation can go down by 15% for deliberately not using safety devices or following safety rules.

If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out. We will help ensure the best outcome for your situation.