[VIDEO] Don’ts for Injured Workers: Don’t Accept Settlements

[VIDEO] Don’ts for Injured Workers: Don’t Accept Settlements

One thing I always tell my clients, if the insurance company makes you an offer before you even ask for money don’t accept it – because at that point they’re offering you a very minimal amount of money. It may seem like a lot to you and if it does, it’s because the claim is really worth a lot more and they know it.

I’ve seen that happen before – I’ve seen a client of mine who worked in a warehouse and injured his back severely. The employer asked him, “Look, let’s not file a claim. We’ll take care of all your medical treatment or we’ll give you some money ahead of time so you can take care of everything you need to do…Let’s not get our insurance company involved.”

Don’t do that to yourself. What you’re doing is leaving your future in the hands of somebody who doesn’t care about your future. The only reason that they don’t want you to file a claim is because they:<//p>

• Don’t want to provide you the real treatment that you need.
• They simply don’t want their insurance premiums to go up.

Workers’ compensation insurance premiums are pretty much like an auto insurance premium that you and I pay every day. When you get injured and are in a car accident – If someone hits you from the rear and they come up and say exactly the same thing to you. “Hey! Let’s not get our insurance company involved” – Do you feel comfortable going forward without calling the insurance company? Of course not. The reason you don’t feel comfortable is because you have no idea who that person is that hit you. You have no idea what their intentions are and you do not know whether they will provide you the treatment that you need. That’s the exact same scenario for the insurance company for your workers’ compensation.

There is no good reason your employer can give you for not filing a claim with their insurance companies. They pay premiums for a reason. Let the specialist do what they do. Do not accept any type of monies in lieu of treatment or filing a claim because whatever money you may accept, I promise you this, it will not be enough. You will be on the hook for your own treatment. Simple things like physical therapy cost hundreds of tens of dollars per session typically. If you need thirty treatments or thirty sessions of physical therapy that’s thirty hundred dollar payments.

We haven’t even gotten into whether you need surgery. We haven’t gotten into specialized care with orthopedic specialist, neurologist or psychiatrist. There are so many avenues that you’re eliminating if you simply accept money in lieu of treatment and or filing a claim. There’s no way you can appreciate the severity of your injury immediately in the first ten days or so after your accident. These things take time.

Give yourself the opportunity to get the treatment you need. To find out what is going on with your body and to find out what it is that you’re going to need for the rest of your life. That’s what we do here. We appreciate the severity of all the injuries that we represent for our clients and we try to put them in a better position that will allow us to do what we can to put you in a good position. If you accept money in the beginning, in lieu of treatment and or filing a claim, then you’re handcuffing yourself to do whatever you “accept” and it’s going to be grossly undervalue. Contact us today for more information.