WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION PROCESS

All workers should be educated on the workers’ compensation process. Taking the right course of action in a timely manner can greatly ease the burden of dealing with the workers’ compensation process, which can often be confusing or difficult.

At Castrodale Law, LLC, Attorney Gloria Castrodale has been helping Ohio workers who have been injured at work for over 25 years. We’ll personally walk you through the process, taking into account your injury, the circumstances surrounding it and your recovery process.

If You’ve Been Injured, File A Claim

The most important thing an injured worker should do after suffering an injury at work is to seek medical treatment and report the injury or incident to their employer. Most emergency rooms or urgent care facilities will file a claim on your behalf with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC). However, the burden is on you to file your claim if none has been filed. There are deadlines to be followed for filing. It is most important that the deadlines are met at the initial application stage.

Typically, workers are entitled to some form of the following benefits:

• Temporary total disability is payable to workers who have been disabled for more than seven consecutive days. The amount of temporary total is determined by a calculation of wages for the one year prior to the date of injury. For a detailed analysis of your benefits and to be sure you are paid at the correct rate, contact us for a free consultation.
• Permanent partial disability is payable to workers who do not recover from their work injury and have an impairment as a result of their injury. A permanent partial award is based upon medical evidence that is usually argued by an attorney.
• Permanent total disability is payable to an injured worker for the rest of one’s life. This benefit is awarded to an injured worker whose workplace injury has rendered him or her unfit to perform any sustained remunerative employment. This decision is only made by the Ohio Industrial Commission.
• Lump sum settlement. Sometimes the parties to the claim, the injured worker, the employer and the Ohio BWC agree to a sum of money which the Ohio BWC will pay to the injured worker. In exchange for this sum of money, the settlement forever resolves all past, present, or future compensation and medical issues and liabilities in the claim, whether known or unknown. Do not be caught in the trap of settlement without talking to an attorney first.

Attorney Castrodale pushes for your interests throughout the process, always operating in a timely manner so that your rights are respected and protected.

Understanding The Deadlines

After the claim has been filed with the BWC, you will receive a response within 28 days. If your claim was denied, you have 14 days to appeal.

Appeals are handled through the Ohio Industrial Commission. However, receiving an allowance determination is not necessarily the end of the road: both you and your employer can challenge that decision.

Whatever the circumstances, contacting a lawyer can often simplify the process and make sure that your case is handled fairly, particularly if you and your employer disagree on the specifics of the injury.

Contact Castrodale Law, LLC, For A Free Consultation

To discuss your matter with an experienced lawyer, call our Springfield office at 937-323-9783 or use the contact form.