Suffered a Work Injury in Knoxville?
Contact The Lawyers of Brown & Roberto Today
Every employee has the right to a safe workplace. Unfortunately, not all workers get one. A total of 55,400 nonfatal work injuries occurred in the private sector and 11,900 occurred among local and state government employees in Tennessee in 2022 according to the Department of Labor & Workforce Development.
When you are hurt at work, you should have a legal advocate representing you in the aftermath of your injuries. The Lawyers of Brown and Roberto are here and ready to help. Our legal team has recovered more than $50 million for clients in past cases, including $287,000 for a worker who sustained a heart attack at work, as well as $275,000 for a crush injury victim. Since 1979, we have been fighting for the rights of the injured and we will earn your trust if you hire us to represent you.
To schedule a free consultation with a Knoxville workplace injury attorney, just give us a call today at (865) 691-2777 to find out more about how we can help you.
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Common Causes of Workplace Injuries
Workplace injuries happen for many reasons, including unsafe working conditions and a failure on the part of employers to follow regulations set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Some of the most common ways that employees are harmed on the job include:
- Slip and falls and falls to a lower level
- Auto accidents while performing work obligations
- Exposure to chemicals or dangerous substances on the job site, such as asbestos
- Malfunctioning machinery
- Repetitive stress injuries
It is important to know that you do not have to get hurt in a sudden accident in order to be entitled to compensation for a work injury. If you develop a medical condition or illness over time due to your job duties, then you should be able to pursue a claim for compensation for your losses. This can include health problems such as sprains and strains, carpal tunnel, or even cancers, lung conditions, or hearing loss resulting from exposures at work.
The key factor that determines if you are entitled to compensation — and that determines the process by which you can recover your damages — is whether your injuries or your illness developed as a direct result of your performance of work tasks. If the harm you have experienced is directly tied to your job, then you should have a right to recover monetary compensation for your losses.
Getting Compensation After Workplace Injuries
In the vast majority of situations where you sustain a workplace injury, you will not be able to sue your employer. Instead, you will need to get compensation under Tennessee’s workers’ compensation system.
According to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, any company with five or more employees and any construction company with even a single employee is required to buy workers’ compensation insurance. Companies must purchase this coverage unless they can prove they’re able to self-insure and provide the same level of protection to employees that an insurer would.
Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance that pays out benefits to injured workers or to workers who are made sick by their job. Employees don’t pay for this coverage nor do they have to sign up for it — employers must cover them automatically by law. Workers’ compensation insurance pays out benefits for any work-related ailments, even if the employer was not negligent or did not do anything wrong.
Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against an employer in almost all situations where you are a covered worker. It does not apply to independent contractors or apply to visitors to worksites, but it covers virtually all employees. Those who are covered can’t pursue a personal injury claim against their employer, so they can’t collect compensation for non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
The compensation an injured worker should be entitled to through workers’ compensation includes:
- Medical treatment costs for all care made necessary by the work injury and provided by an authorized physician.
- Disability benefits could be total or partial and they could be temporary or permanent depending on the extent of the damage that the job caused.
Surviving loved ones of those killed in a workplace accident can also recover workers’ compensation death benefits. These workers’ compensation benefits are also known as survivor’s benefits and they help those left behind to make ends meet once their loved one has died and is no longer able to provide them with financial support.
What Does a Knoxville Workplace Injury Lawyer Do?
A Knoxville workers compensation lawyer will provide assistance to those navigating the workers’ compensation system. The Lawyers of Brown and Roberto can assist you in a number of important ways. Here are some of the things our Knoxville workers’ compensation attorneys can help you to do:
- Understand the rules for reporting your injuries and seeking medical care
- Prove your injuries are work-related and demonstrate the extent of your damage
- Provide representation if there is a dispute regarding whether a specific type of medical care is necessary and should be covered.
- Work to get you the maximum disability compensation after you suffer temporary or permanent injuries
- Assist you in appealing a workers’ compensation claim denial if your case is not initially approved
- Help you negotiate a workers’ compensation settlement that offers you the full amount of money Tennessee law entitles you to when your job has affected your health
Our personal injury attorneys in Knoxville will also look at the big picture of your accident to identify all possible legal remedies. For example, if you were harmed by dangerous machinery on the job site and there was a manufacturer defect that caused the machine to malfunction, we can work with you to determine if you may be able to pursue a product liability claim. This could provide broader compensation for things like pain and suffering damages that workers’ compensation doesn’t pay for.
Get Help from A Knoxville Workplace Accident Attorney Today
A Knoxville workplace injury attorney can assist you in every step of your work injury claim. Whether you were injured or made sick because of your job tasks, we will help you navigate the legal system and fight for your right to get full compensation for your losses.
Contact the Lawyers of Brown and Roberto at (865) 691-2777 today to learn more about how we can advocate for you.