If you have been injured while working you may be wondering whether you should hire a workers compensation lawyer or a personal injury attorney. The answer depends on how you were injured and by whom.
In Ohio an attorney can be certified as a specialist in Ohio workers compensation law by the OSBA, but this does not mean that he is also an experienced personal injury lawyer.
Some attorneys focus exclusively on workers compensation while other attorneys only focus on personal injury law. Some attorneys have the experience to do both. Most attorneys think they are car accident attorneys but very few have actually have had significant trial experience in taking cases to court and undertaking a trial, let alone handling the complexities of a case involving both workers compensation and a separate personal injury claim.
A personal injury lawyer takes cases where people are injured as a result of the negligence or legal fault of another and seeks to get them money compensation for their injures.
A workers compensation lawyer deals with clients who were injured while working and seeks the benefits of the workers compensation system for their clients. There is no necessity to prove negligence and normally you can not sue your employer even if they are negligent.
But what happens if you are injured through the fault of another while you are working. In that case you have a claim for your personal injury as well as a claim for workers compensation benefits. You can hire two attorneys or you can find attorneys experienced in both workers compensation and personal injury.
There are many benefits to having one attorney handle your workers compensation claim and your personal injury claim. The most important benefit is that the attorney knows all the information relevant to your claims. There is an overlap in medical information that is developed and it is important that one attorney have all that information.
Also the Ohio bureau of Workers compensation is entitled to get paid back out of your personal injury claim on a formula basis that is negotiable. An attorney experienced in personal injury and workers compensation will know how to maximize your benfits and should be able to maximize results for you.
Several recurring types of cases presant themselves. The car accident injury case while working is one. In that case you are entitled to get workers compensation as well as seek damages from the person that caused your injury. Also on construction sites workers can be injured through the negligence of a third party independant contractor. In that situation you also get workers compensation and you can bring a claim against the contrator.
By: Anthony Castelli accident and injury attorney . Mr Castelli is certified as a specialist by the OSBA in Ohio workers compensation law. Plus he has handled hudreds of personal injury cases as well as many cases involving persons injured on the job through the fault off a third person.
His website is www.castellilaw.com
His site provides information on both personal injury claims as well as workers compensation claims. Serving Greater cincinnati Anthony Castelli is both a personal injury attorney and workers compensation attorney and will be glad to provide a free initial consultation.
