In Missouri, it is completely illegal for your boss to fire you in retaliation for filing a workers compensation claim. Missouri’s workers compensation laws provide that “no employer or agent shall discharge or in any way discriminate against any employee for exercising any of his rights under this chapter.” Mo. Rev. Stat. § 287.780.

Even though they cannot fire you, sometimes your boss may try to make you feel guilty for filing a workers’ compensation claim after a work injury. No one should feel bad about it.

Workers compensation is a government system setup by the State of Missouri. It is there to help injured workers pay for their medical bills and lost wages. The system was created by the Missouri legislature with the agreement and assistance of pro-business organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce. These organizations represent most of Missouri’s employers. They signed on to creating the workers compensation system because it protects them from lawsuits when their employees get injured. Instead of filing a normal lawsuit, the injured employee’s “sole remedy” is usually a workers compensation claim. This saves Missouri employers millions and millions of dollars a year.

Plus, your employer is required to have workers compensation insurance, so the money is not coming out of their pocket.

If you have been injured on the job, then please call Austin Bradley Law Office today at (417) 385-1338 to speak with a local workers compensation. All our workers compensation cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not have to pay us a penny unless we win your case.

Also, feel free to send us a question about your workers compensation case through our website by clicking here.

 

A reputable workers’ compensation attorney will handle your claim on a “contingency fee basis,” meaning you only get charged a portion of the settlement.

At Austin Bradley Law Office, all of our workers’ compensation cases are handled as contingency fee cases. We never get paid and never charge any of our clients unless there is a financial recovery in their case. If you hire us to represent you, an experienced workers’ compensation attorney will handle your case from beginning to end, making sure you receive the benefits you are entitled to receive under the law.

If you are already being paid for the time you are missing due to your work injury, that money will still be 100% yours. We do not take any fees out of money you are already receiving when you hire us. Instead, as your workers’ compensation attorney, our fees are paid out of the final settlement that we achieve for you at the end of your case. Our fees will never exceed 25 percent, even if we have to take your case all the way to trial to recover.

While not every claim needs a workers’ compensation attorney, the following situations usually require hiring a workers’ compensation attorney:

• If your medical treatment is being delayed or denied.
• If you have been denied payment for time you missed from work due to your injury.
• If you employer is trying to force you to work while you are unable to due your injury.
• If you have suffered a serious work injury that will result in a permanent disability.
• If you have been offered a workers’ compensation settlement, but feel the amount is too low.

If you are thinking about hiring a workers’ compensation attorney, then please call us today at (417) 385-1338 to speak with a local workers’ compensation attorney for free. Also, feel free to send us a question through our website by clicking here.

Most people know that if you are injured on the job in Missouri, then you are entitled to workers compensation benefits. Few people, however, are aware of all the different benefits you may be entitled to. Generally people understand that you are entitled to have your medical bills paid by the employer’s workers compensation insurance company.

Where most folks (and some lawyers) get confused, however, is when we start discussing payment for total disability and partial disability. There are four different kinds of disability that are paid under Missouri’s workers compensation system: temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, permanent total disability, and permanent partial disability.

Temporary total disability is fairly straightforward. If you are unable to work at all while recovering from your work injury, then you are entitled to payment for your lost wages. In Missouri, the amount you are entitled to receive is two-thirds of your average weekly wage. The weekly amount paid, however, cannot exceed a cap, which in 2015 is $886.92 per week.

Temporary partial disability is a little more complicated. Temporary partial disability kicks in when you are able to work while recovering but unable to perform the same job as before the injury. Frequently this is called “light duty.” If your “light duty” job pays less than your pre-injury job, you are entitled to payment of two-thirds of the difference in pay between the two jobs. For example, if you pre-injury job paid $1,000.00 a week, but your “light duty” only pays $700.00, you are entitled to a weekly benefit of $200.00 from the workers compensation carrier. That amount is two-thirds of the $300.00 difference between your pre-injury wage and your light duty wage.

Permanent total disability, much like temporary total disability, is fairly easy to understand. If your work injury is serious enough to prevent you from ever being able to work again, then you are entitled to receive payments in the amount of two-thirds of your pre-injury average weekly wage for the rest of your life, subject to the same weekly maximum as above.

The last benefit, permanent partial disability, is more complicated than permanent total disability. Permanent partial disability is required to be paid when your work injury resulted in a permanent injury that does not prevent you from working in the future. The Missouri Department of Labor publishes a Permanent Partial Disability Schedule that is used to calculate the amount of compensation you are entitled to receive from a work injury that resulted in permanent partial disability. The amount will depend on what part of your body is injured and the severity of the injury. The best way to figure out what your permanent partial disability claim is worth is to speak with a qualified workers compensation attorney.

If you are thinking about pursuing a workers compensation claim, then call us today for a free consultation at (417) 385-1338. Also, feel free to send us a question through our website by clicking here.