Workers’ compensation is a complicated area of law, and it can be difficult to know all the proper steps to take to secure your rights to compensation for an on-the-job injury. Below are answers to some frequently asked questions encountered by the attorneys at the Law Offices of J.J. Talbott as we help people like you who have been injured on the job in southern Alabama and the Florida panhandle. For immediate assistance with a workers’ compensation claim or benefits denial, contact our office for a free case review with one of our lawyers.
The workers’ compensation laws in Florida and Alabama are very complex. While the law was initially drafted in order to provide the claimant medical care in a quick fashion, the insurance company usually takes every opportunity to prevent the employee from getting medical care or limit the amount that they have to provide the employee…
Many insurance companies like for the employee to use the insurance company’s mail order pharmacy or local discount pharmacies, as it saves the insurance company money. However, this often causes issues with the employee getting the prescription filled or delays authorization for the prescription. The employee does not have to use the insurance company’s pharmacy…
If an employee has a valid workers’ compensation claim, they are entitled to be paid mileage to and from all medical appointments. However, the employee must keep a list of the dates that they went to the doctor and the number of miles which they traveled. This information should be submitted to the insurance carrier…
Many employees indicate that they are treated differently once they file a workers’ compensation case or indicate that the employer makes them work with restrictions. As such, they indicate that they want to quit their job. At the Law Office of J.J. Talbott, we do not recommend any employee quit their job. If you quit your employment,…
Any time that you are injured in an accident, we suggest that you immediately report the injury to your employer. Under the Florida workers’ compensation law, an employer has a defense to a workers’ compensation case if the employee does not report the injury within 30 days (90 days if it is an occupational exposure…
At the Law Office of J.J. Talbott, we encourage our clients to file for social security disability benefits if there is a possibility that the employee would qualify for SSD. Unfortunately, most people are denied social security disability benefits on the first time they apply and it takes approximately eighteen (18) months to two years…
Under the Florida workers’ compensation law, once you reach maximum medical improvement, you are entitled to two types of benefits: impairment benefit or permanent total disability benefit. Impairment benefits are a nominal amount of benefits, usually a few thousand dollars, which compensate you for your impairment based on the permanent impairment rating that the physician…
Under the workers’ compensation law, the treating doctor must communicate with the insurance company about your medical care and need for treatment. However, the nurse case manager does not have a right to go into the room with you when you are seeing the doctor. The employee has a right to control who attends the doctor…
The average weekly wage (AWW) is the claimant’s average weekly earnings during the 13 weeks prior to the on-the-job accident. The AWW is important as this is the monetary amount for which the insurance company will calculate temporary total, temporary partial, permanent impairment, and permanent total disability benefits. Specifically, if the employee has worked for…
Often, the workers’ compensation carrier delays paying medical bills for various reasons. In our practice, we have had employees communicate concerns that the carrier’s failing to pay the medical bills will affect their credit. Under Florida Law, if the insurance carrier authorizes treatment, then the insurance carrier, and not the employee, is responsible for the…