If you get injured at work, you may end up needing more than one type of lawyer to represent you. Many lawyers focus on representing clients who have particular types of cases. Your workers’ compensation lawyer may tell you that you need a different lawyer to help you address employment law or personal injury claims. Or you might have an employment or personal injury lawyer and then find out that you have a workers’ compensation claim too.
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation lawyers help clients who have been physically or mentally injured at work, in the course and scope of their employment. Work injuries could include cuts from an industrial accident, PTSD from seeing a coworker get injured, or back strain from lifting.
When you get a lawyer for workers’ compensation, your lawyer will help you receive various types of benefits. These benefits include payment of medical expenses, partial payment of lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation services. Often employers’ workers’ compensation insurance companies deny these benefits to injured workers unless they have help fighting for their rights.
Employment Law
Some people with workers’ compensation claims also have experienced disability discrimination or other employment issues. When you have medical restrictions as a result of a work injury, your employer has to reasonably accommodate you unless doing so will be extremely burdensome. To accommodate you, your employer may need to provide you with adaptive devices, modify your schedule, offer you an open position that fits your restrictions, and more.
If your employer is not following your restrictions, you may need to speak to a lawyer who practices employment law. Employment lawyers handle claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, failure to accommodate medical restrictions, and failure to pay wages correctly.
Personal Injury
If your work injury resulted from an attack or assault by a coworker or customer, or if your employer disregarded safety rules and placed you in harm’s way, you may need a personal injury lawyer. Personal injury lawyers handle cases for people hurt in car accidents or assaults and people injured due to faulty products. Talk to your workers’ compensation lawyer about whether Minnesota law might allow you to pursue a personal injury claim. Some workers’ compensation lawyers also handle personal injury cases.
Need help getting workers’ compensation for your injury and also think you have a personal injury claim? Joe Osterbauer, Esq. and the Osterbauer Law Firm stand up for injured Minnesota workers’ rights, and they offer personal injury representation. Joe’s 27 years of workers’ compensation experience and his team’s speedy service combine to get clients the results they need. To schedule a free consultation, visit Osterbauer Law Firm online or call Joe’s office at (612) 334-3434.
