Montgomery, AL Workers’ Comp Attorneys

 

If you have suffered a work-related injury in Montgomery, AL, you should be able to recover benefits through your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance. Alabama requires that businesses with five or more employees carry worker’s comp coverage to help provide for employees who get hurt on the job.

The workers’ compensation system is set up so that employees with work-related injuries or illnesses can recover benefits regardless of who was at fault. In exchange for a no-fault system, employees are generally not allowed to sue their employer, and their benefits are limited to compensation for direct monetary losses such as reasonable and necessary medical expenses, a percentage of lost earnings, and compensation for permanent injuries.

Although the workers’ comp system is set up for Alabama workers to be able to recover compensation for their injuries without having to file a lawsuit and prove negligence, the process is still far more complicated and confusing than it should be. Employers and their insurers want to pay as little as possible in compensation, and they often put up unnecessary roadblocks to frustrate workers into giving up on the benefits that they are entitled to.

If you need help recovering workers’ compensation benefits after an injury, it is wise to speak with an attorney with extensive experience in this area of the law. At Burge & Burge, we help injured workers in Montgomery and other Alabama communities to overcome the inherent obstacles that exist in the workers’ comp system. We also work closely with our clients to ensure that they recover the highest level of benefits that they are eligible for.

Common Montgomery, AL Workplace Accidents

Montgomery has a population of around 200,000, and the Capital City employs about 160,000 non-agricultural workers. Montgomery has a diverse range of industries and occupations. Some of the industries with the largest workforces in the city include:

• Government – 38,300
• Trade, Transportation, and Utilities – 30,400
• Education and Health Services – 17,800
• Business and Professional Services – 17,200
• Manufacturing – 15,900
• Leisure and Hospitality – 13,600
• Financial Services – 10,400
• Construction and Mining – 8500

Source: City-Data.com

Some of the occupations listed are more physically strenuous than others, such as manufacturing, construction, and mining. But regardless of your occupation, employees are always susceptible to workplace injuries, especially when work conditions do not meet required safety standards.

Some of the most common accidents that may occur in Montgomery workplaces include:

• Slips, Trips, and Falls: One of the top causes of injuries in the workplace is when an employee experiences some type of fall. This can happen for a number of reasons; such as slipping on a wet floor, tripping over supplies or debris that is left lying on the floor or ground, or falling from heights, which is especially common in the construction industry.

• Overexertion: Another leading cause of workplace injuries is overexertion. This often happens because of excessive pulling, pushing, lifting, carrying, or throwing objects.

• Repetitive Motion Injuries: Related to overexertion, repetitive motions or repetitive tasks can lead to various types of injuries. This can happen even in occupations where an employee sits at a desk all day that is not ergonomically sound. This could lead to vision problems from staring at a computer screen, carpal tunnel syndrome from typing too much, and neck and shoulder problems from sitting too long without taking a break.

• Struck By/Struck Against Events: Employees can suffer various types of injuries from being struck by an object or struck against a hard surface. This type of injury happens frequently on construction sites where objects and debris frequently fall from the second, third, or higher floor.

• Machinery Accidents: Many occupations require workers to use heavy equipment and machinery to perform their tasks more efficiently. Machines make our jobs easier, but they can also be very dangerous when workers are not properly trained to use them, or when they malfunction because of a product defect.

• Exposure to Toxic Substances: Employees can sometimes experience a work-related illness from exposure to hazardous substances on the job. This has been seen all too often over the years in the mining industry, but it can happen in other occupations as well.

• Vehicle Accidents: Workers in the transportation industry and others who frequently use their vehicles on the job are always at risk of an auto accident. When an employee gets into a vehicle crash, it can result in serious and sometimes catastrophic injuries.

Third-Party Claims for Montgomery, AL Workers’ Compensation Injuries

Workers in Montgomery who suffer an on-the-job injury should be eligible for workers’ comp. However, there are some circumstances in which an outside party (other than the employer or a co-worker) causes or contributes to a workplace injury. Examples may include:

• A construction worker who gets hurt because of the negligence of a third-party subcontractor who is working nearby.

• The driver of a vehicle who is at fault for a crash that injures an employee on the job.

• The designer or manufacturer of a faulty piece of equipment that malfunctions and causes a workplace injury.

When a situation like this is present, the injured worker may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit directly against the outside party that caused their injury. This opens the door to recovering damages over and above what would be available through workers’ comp, such as compensation for the physical pain-and-suffering the worker had to endure and the emotional and psychological distress that is associated with the injury.

At Burge & Burge, we thoroughly investigate the circumstances of our clients’ workplace injuries, and we explore every potential legal avenue toward recovering maximum compensation. If your benefits are limited to what is available through workers’ compensation, we will help ensure that you become approved for the highest level of benefits available. If there are outside parties involved, we can help you file a personal injury claim against them.

We are also one of a limited number of personal injury firms in the country that handle railroad injury cases. Railroad workers who get hurt on the job are not part of the state workers’ compensation system – claims for these workers are filed under the Federal Employer Liability Act (FELA). Filing a FELA claim is very complicated and there are specific procedures that must be followed, so be sure that the firm you work with has extensive experience with this area of the law.

Contact Our Experienced Montgomery, AL Workers’ Compensation Lawyers  

If you or someone close to you suffered a work-related injury or illness in the Montgomery, AL area, Burge & Burge is here to help! Message us online or call our office today at 205-251-9000 to set up a free consultation and case assessment.