Video Transcript
Hey, it’s Bernard Nomberg with the Nomberg Law Firm. I wanted to spend a minute or two talking with you about another subject dealing with workers’ comp law in Alabama.
This is a topic that comes up in almost every case, and we need to deal with it, so we have to explain to the clients, and the issue is, “Why is my case taking so long? Why have I not settled the case, gotten it resolved, been done, been paid and all the paperwork finished?”
That’s a great question because when a person gets hurt on the job, it is usually one of the more stressful times in their life. If you really think about it, in addition to their health being compromised—whether it’s temporarily or permanently—that remains to be seen.
But the other issue is that there is almost like a domino effect when you can’t work because you’re hurt. You don’t have the income coming in. And when you don’t have the same kind of income that you’re used to coming in, then certain expectations in life—certain things you may be used to—are also affected. And it just has really a chain effect to it and it creates stress in the household.
Injured workers, in certain circumstances, are living paycheck to paycheck, so where’s the money coming to pay the bills, to put food on the table, etc.?
That, in turn, puts the pressure on trying to get the case settled, and that is an issue that the attorney and the injured worker—the client—really have to discuss about from a timetable. But some of the time, early in the representation, it’s easy for the attorney to be able to lay out a timetable of events and things that will occur over a certain period of time.
But in other circumstances, such as when the case is being denied, when there’s still investigation going on, when it’s protracted or long medical care that takes quite a while, that’s much, much harder for even the most experienced attorneys to figure out when the case will get settled, how it will resolve, will it be a settlement just through the parties, does a lawsuit have to be filed, does a trial have to occur, is there going to be an appeal.
All of those things affect the timing of events of when they can get done.
But I will say one of the biggest factors in all of this is really dependent upon the medical care progress of the injured worker themself. Because most of the time, you cannot and don’t want to resolve workers’ comp claims until that medical care has been stabilized until the doctors have placed the injured worker maximum medical improvement, a rating has been given, a determination whether or not they can go back to the employment. Those kinds of things, there’s a lot of puzzle pieces, if you will.
So I know that it’s a stressful time for the injured worker, but you’ve got to please keep those things in mind that the attorney only has so much control about getting certain things resolved.
And the one thing that you don’t want to do is to be pressured, from an economic standpoint, to settle out your case because of the immediate need for certain bills to be paid in those things.
So we’re not advocating that you go to one of these what we call the predatory loan companies that will make loans against your future settlement that may or may not be there. But if you can borrow from loved ones or from your own checking or savings or other types of accounts, whatever you can do to just bridge that gap until we can get the claims resolved will help you in the long run.
If you have questions or concerns about that, and this happens in most every one of our cases, please give us a call (205) 930-6900. Or you can find us on the web at www.NombergLaw.com. We’re also on Twitter/X, as well as Facebook.
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Workers’ compensation claims can lead down many paths before they are resolved. There are many factors that are involved that will determine which path(s). Has the claim been accepted or denied? Is the investigation still going on? How serious are the employee’s injuries? All of these issues must be addressed to answer how long the claim will last. Being informed and patient with the process, and staying in contact with your lawyer should help the injured worker to understand more about the events as they unfold during the claim.
If you have any questions or concerns about this issue or other issues on the law, please call the Nomberg Law Firm at (205) 930-6900. Our website is www.NombergLaw.com.
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