Work Comp: Why does this take so long??? / Compensación de trabajadores: ¿Por qué se toma tanto tiempo???

Recently we have noticed an unfortunate trend among many of our new work comp clients. They are desperate for money just to live day-to-day. They are among the huge portion of Americans living paycheck to paycheck. Every single employee of this firm has, at one time or another, lived that way. So, we completely understand when a client comes in and tells us he/she was hurt a month or two ago, hasn’t had any income since and doesn’t know how he will survive. Here’s the problem: he has already waited 2 or more months to hire a lawyer. Usually, the new client doesn’t know what to do, or more often, has been strung along by the employer’s insurance company while they claim is “under investigation” … and then denied. Consequently, he is way behind on all of his bills and has no idea what to do. We will help as best we can. What most clients don’t understand is that there are steps that have to occur before any lawyer can help. These steps take time. For instance:

1. We formally sign you up and gather information from you. It takes only one day to get started.
2. We file the claim with the Workers’ Compensation Commission and must wait for them to assign a claim number. This process takes 2 weeks or more.
3. While we wait for the claim number we order your medical records. We send requests; the doctors’ offices tell us the payment amount. Then we send the checks and wait for the records. This usually takes 1 to 2 months. We can’t try your case or take any other actions until we have your records. The records must contain: a history of your injury, a diagnosis, an opinion from your doctor that your injury is caused by the work accident and a treatment plan. If the records don’t contain this history, then we have to ask the doctor to write such a note (and often pay him a lot of money for it) and this delays action even longer. If we need to take your doctor’s testimony (a deposition) to help prove your case, then we have to wait 1 or 3 more months until everyone’s calendars have a common date. Some experts don’t have depo dates for 6 months or more.
4. If we have any helpful records we set your case for trial. Trials can occur one week a month, so we have to wait for that week to come around. BUT, if the insurance company hasn’t hired a lawyer then they will at the last minute and the work comp arbitrators always grant one continuance so that the defense lawyer can gather records and prepare. This is another month or more.
5. Once the case is tried we have to wait another 3 months or more for the Arbitrator’s decision. So, if either side appeals to the Commission Panel then we have to wait another 8 months or more for the oral arguments and their decision.

The thing to remember is that an experienced work comp lawyer can speed this process up! In a good situation we can get your case to trial in 2 to 3 months (if it has to be tried). A better situation is when we can help get you to great doctors who understand the system and are very fast in getting their reports written. With these kinds of doctors, we can push cases much faster and put the pressure on the insurance company. Sometimes they see how well the case is structured and they realize it would be cheaper just to get the worker medical treatment and negotiate with us for a fair settlement. The sooner we are involved the faster the case can move.

If you have questions or need help please do not hesitate to call us. Short and Daugherty, P.C. 618-254-0055 or 655-9499.