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skychief · Jul 21, 2008, 10:03 PM

My question is this: How many of you have a opinion of Worker Compensation Lawyers working together between themselves and not for the client that they are supposed to represent. My lawyer keeps telling me that I should settled and I keep telling her "no".
Eveytime my case comes up for trail my lawyer calls me up the day before hand to tell me that my case has been delayed again. As far as the reasons for the delays it always something from they want more doctors reports or whatever.
The point that I am trying to make here is "how many of you that have had experience with worker compensation feel the same as I do,"that as long as your not willing to settle your own layer will try to delay it as long as possible till either you do settle and they get there gaurteened share or if not the longer it gets drag on the more the lawyer gets till it gets to court.
In my case I have told my lawyer that all I what is to get operated on and move on with my life, but I still want to hold the company responsible for my arm. The lawyer says "Just take the money that there offering you and have it done", but that means that there won't be a job for me when it's done and why should I let my employer off the hook that easy. Is there a number of times in Mi. that one's trail can be delayed?
By the time my next court date comes up it will be 2 years from the time that the lawyer filed. Don't tell me to find a different lawyer since it will just drag the process ever longer and I want it to come to a end.

tickle · Jul 22, 2008, 05:29 AM

skychief, money talks so I ask if your lawyer has been paid for his/her time to date ?

skychief · Jul 22, 2008, 12:11 PM

Tickle,

Yes, that's true money does talk, but in Michigan the lawyer only gets paid if he or she wins the case and the amount is a percentage so the longer it's held out there the more the lawyer receives.
I would be more than happy to hire a lawyer and pay by the hour. In Michigan that's not how it is done in workers compensation cases.

twinkiedooter · Jul 22, 2008, 02:45 PM

If you are not willing to settle for whatever amount the company is offering and the other side keeps asking for more paperwork from you, then it is essentially you who are making this thing continue on and on - not them. If you think 2 years is a long time, try 4 or 5 years waiting to settle a WC case. You are way too impatient. Delays happen in regular court as well as WC hearings. Is there any reason you don't want to settle now versus later on? Do you think you will get more money if you have an operation? Do you really think you're going to be able to continue working for that company once you have an operation and do go back to work for them? I am sure that they will figure out a way to terminate you even if you do go back to work for them. Not knowing how you were injured or the severity of your injury, if you are operated on it could be many months of recuperation ahead of you before you can return to work. If WC is willing to pay for your arm operation and give you a cash award, what is the problem with settling now?

And no, attorneys don't work that way with WC cases. They are fighting for all the benefit money and medical benefits they can get for you as the more money they get for you the more their percentage is in the end. So far I'll bet the attorney has worked for free on your case without so much as a dime from you. Please don't be so impatient with your attorney but talk to him and seriously weigh the offers that he has for you and fully discuss each offer.

JudyKayTee · Jul 22, 2008, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by skychief

My question is this: How many of you have a opinion of Worker Compensation Lawyers working together between themselves and not for the client that they are supposed to represent. My lawyer keeps telling me that I should settled and I keep telling her "no".
eveytime my case comes up for trail my lawyer calls me up the day before hand to tell me that my case has been delayed again. As far as the reasons for the delays it always something from they want more doctors reports or whatever.
The point that I am trying to make here is "how many of you that have had experience with worker compensation feel the same as I do,"that as long as your not willing to settle your own layer will try to delay it as long as possible till either you do settle and they get there gaurteened share or if not the longer it gets drag on the more the lawyer gets till it gets to court.
In my case I have told my lawyer that all I what is to get operated on and move on with my life, but I still want to hold the company responsible for my arm. The lawyer says "Just take the money that there offering you and have it done", but that means that there won't be a job for me when it's done and why should I let my employer off the hook that easy. Is there a number of times in Mi., that one's trail can be delayed?
By the time my next court date comes up it will be 2 years from the time that the lawyer filed. Don't tell me to find a different lawyer since it will just drag the process ever longer and I want it to come to a end.

WC cases pay nothing compared to other cases and I never understand why Attorneys accept them in the first place.

I'm sure there are maverick Attorneys but it sounds like you are delaying the case by not accepting what your Attorney feels is a good offer.

WC is not necessarily going to make you rich or even whole. That's just how it is. Unfortunately. Do you have a third-party action for your injury?

skychief · Jul 22, 2008, 06:43 PM

Twinkdooter,

No, I don't want to settled,the reason being is that if I hurt myself at work they should pay for the operation and get me back into the workplace or find me a job with my restrictions.
I am not at home hoping for a hugh settlement I just want to get back to work. I was not the one that said I couldn't work the company said that there was no work with these restrictions. If this is the case then either fix the injury or find me a job that will honor my restrictions, don't try to starve a family into a settlement that I don't want.
The injury happen at work,there is a report made on it, the MRI show the tears in the arm. Another point that I want to make is that the doctor said the longer the operation is put off the sooner arthtis will set in. So with all this factor in : proof of the injury,where it happened, my willingness to get back to work and feed my family and my telling my lawyer that I am not going to settle why should it not go to trail and be trailed no with no further delays.

Fr_Chuck · Jul 22, 2008, 07:42 PM

Actually no they pay for the medical bill and lost work and if you can not return, they offer a settlement. Unless your insurance company has a work return program finding you a job is never part of it.

And no often they will push these things out 4 , 6, even 10 years, I had one go almost 10 years and it was finally settled in the back of the court room the day of the case.

ACE QUEEN · Jul 22, 2008, 07:49 PM

There has to be a better lawyer... Try looking for an alternative since that lawyer may be giving up for something that may be happening behind the scenes.

excon · Jul 23, 2008, 06:20 AM

Hello sky:

I don't know about your case, but I think you have waaaaay too many expectations. I think you want MORE than you're ever going to get. So, as long as you want THAT, you're probably not going to get anything.

By the way, if you CHANGE lawyers now, your old lawyer will expect to be paid NOW, and IN CASH.

excon

JudyKayTee · Jul 23, 2008, 06:39 AM

Originally Posted by skychief

Twinkdooter,

No, I don't want to settled,the reason being is that if i hurt myself at work they should pay for the operation and get me back into the workplace or find me a job with my restrictions.
I am not at home hoping for a hugh settlement I just want to get back to work. i was not the one that said I couldn't work the company said that there was no work with these restrictions. If this is the case then either fix the injury or find me a job that will honor my restrictions, don't try to starve a family into a settlement that I don't want.
The injury happen at work,there is a report made on it, the MRI show the tears in the arm. Another point that I want to make is that the doctor said the longer the operation is put off the sooner arthtis will set in. So with all this factor in : proof of the injury,where it happened, my willingness to get back to work and feed my family and my telling my lawyer that I am not going to settle why should it not go to trail and be trailed no with no futher delays.

It's pretty much by Statute - a broken leg is worth this much; a brain injury is worth that much. Not a lot of room to negotiate with WC.

skychief · Jul 23, 2008, 07:04 AM

In Michigan as far as I know there is no set amount for a injury. It mostly goes by your earnings and the length of time off.I hope people on here understand that I am not looking for some high money award. I want to get my arm fixed and move on getting back in the workplace,but since this injury happen at work this operation should fall on there hands. If I go on my own and have it done there if there is further complications then what. I appericate everyone's input, but why should this take this long? Because I am holding my ground? And won't make it easier for the company? If I was convicted of a crime the trail would be in a few months.
As far as getting another lawyer I don't think I would have to pay this one any money according to Mi law if I could show the judge that no progress is being made, but it would no doubt be the same long road as this has been. I am just trying to state that it just isn't right when there is worker compensation laws out there but whit all the games that are played in the courtroom. Here I am 35 years old in the prime of my life and I am sitting on my but when I should be working out there just like you,but because of the law system I have to wait and the longer this goes on the more I lose.

Emland · Jul 23, 2008, 07:32 AM

Since I have never met your lawyer I can't say whether he/she is a good one or not. I have been subject (or rather the company I work for) to a shoddy lawyer that only wanted to settle and collect his fee and I have also had counsel from a very good lawyer that worked his tush off to help us. You will have to make that decision on your own, I'm afraid.

If you believe you have a good lawyer, then it is his duty to advise you if the settlement seems fair. If the injury is as bad as you suggest, you might want to take this time while you are waiting for trial to get some online education and/or training in a new field if you cannot return to your own. In 2 years you could have an Associates Degree. You obviously know how to operate a computer - the IT field is exploding and network admins are in demand.

Cases like this take on a siege mentality. The side which has more to lose will drag out the proceedings as long as possible. They hope to wear down your resolve so you will settle. Weigh the facts, listen to your counsel and make the decision that will serve you best. Good luck!

froggy7 · Jul 23, 2008, 07:50 AM

Originally Posted by Emland

If you believe you have a good lawyer, then it is his duty to advise you if the settlement seems fair. If the injury is as bad as you suggest, you might want to take this time while you are waiting for trial to get some online education and/or training in a new field if you cannot return to your own. In 2 years you could have an Associates Degree. You obviously know how to operate a computer - the IT field is exploding and network admins are in demand.

I'm not sure that the injury is the problem. The problem, from what I read, is that it appears that there is no job that the OP can do at the company with the residual affects of the injury. The OP seems to be asking for help with finding a new job, or training for one. And that's not something that I think that workmen's comp is supposed to cover. Which means that this may drag on forever, since the company is not likely to ever agree to pay for something that they don't have to legally.

Emland · Jul 23, 2008, 08:00 AM

Originally Posted by froggy7

I'm not sure that the injury is the problem. The problem, from what I read, is that it appears that there is no job that the OP can do at the company with the residual affects of the injury. The OP seems to be asking for help with finding a new job, or training for one. And that's not something that I think that workmen's comp is supposed to cover. Which means that this may drag on forever, since the company is not likely to ever agree to pay for something that they don't have to legally.

I agree the company has no obligation to pay for retraining or finding a new job. The OP is young - too young to just sit around and wait for something to happen, IMO. It could take several more years for this to play out.

My suggestion was for the OP to move on and find something that he can do and not wait for something that may or may not happen. I'm a Navy Wife and have been trained to hurry and wait - but I have also learned how to make use of the time waiting to prepare for the next task.

tickle · Jul 23, 2008, 09:12 AM

In Ontario it's the Unemployment Insurance Commission that pays for training for people, and I might add, the jobs they pay to have you train for are ones that will give you a good steady income that is pretty much stable and not subject to fluctuation by an employer. Workmens' Compensation here pays you while you are off with an injury,mind you they don't make the paperwork easy, but at least one has an income while waiting.

I don't know how it works in the US.

sideoutshu · Jul 23, 2008, 10:04 AM

Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

WC cases pay nothing compared to other cases and I never understand why Attorneys accept them in the first place.

I'm sure there are maverick Attorneys but it sounds like you are delaying the case by not accepting what your Attorney feels is a good offer.

WC is not necessarily going to make you rich or even whole. That's just how it is. Unfortunately. Do you have a third-party action for your injury?

Workers compensation lawyers do the work because it is incredibly easy and repetetive to the extent that an office can be run with 2 lawyers and 10 paralegals doing all the work. Where a lawyer in my field (personal injury/medical malpractice) may be able to handle a caseload of 80 cases, a typical WC attorney can handle 300+. It is a numbers game and WC firms are usually run like a mill, with very little attention paid to any one case, and an emphasis on rushing through cases to get paid.

skychief · Jul 23, 2008, 10:26 AM

That's the problem,even though I gotten a lot of response for this question if you don't live in Michigan you have a hard time knowing what is going on here. I am going to college for classes that I hope I will be able to pursue a degree in. In the end though if my arm is not operated on then the possibility of me finding work is slim. As far as my employer there is a lot of work there that I could be doing that they have available,but until this lawsuit runs it course they won't give me a job there. If the case went to court tomorrow, and I won I would be working the next day there with restrictions till I did get operated on. The way Mi law is that my or there lawyer can keep dragging this on is ridiculous .

JudyKayTee · Jul 23, 2008, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by skychief

That's the problem,even though I gotten a lot of response for this question if you don't live in Michigan you have a hard time knowing what is going on here. I am going to college for classes that I hope I will be able to pursue a degree in. In the end though if my arm is not operated on then the possibility of me finding work is slim. As far as my employer there is a lot of work there that I could be doing that they have available,but until this lawsuit runs it course they won't give me a job there. If the case went to court tomorrow, and I won I would be working the next day there with restrictions till I did get operated on. The way Mi law is that my or there lawyer can keep dragging this on is ridiculous .

Did you answer my question about a third party action?

twinkiedooter · Jul 23, 2008, 04:15 PM

May I ask why won't you get the operation now if that's what the doctor ordered for you? Won't the WC pay for this operation? In Ohio and Florida you would have been operated on and the WC would pay the medical bills for this operation. Then you could get a settlement award afterwards. Don't really follow your scenerio on why no operation if it is needed. I can't imagine that Michigan is any different in their WC laws.

skychief · Jul 23, 2008, 08:08 PM

twinkiedooter,

The worker compensation will not give the o.k. to have the operation done. I don't know the reason why if they don't think it's needed or what. As far as for me going on my own and having it done I don't have that kind of money with this case going on now for two years. This is also what I don't understand if the MRI shows the tears and I reported the injury at work as soon as it happened and went to the emergency right then and there.
So with this in my favor why won't they let me have the operation now and deal with the settlement amount later at court. In Michigan if you hurt yourself at work the company is responsible for the injury no matter what. The dollar amount for lost wages can be setteled later , but for right now I want to get my arm fix so I can move on if I have too.