Can You Sue Your Workmans Compensation Lawyer?

[Riley2012]

When Workman's Compensation cuts you off with no warning and your lawyer does nothing what do you do? I understand they are so swamped and their cut of the pie is smaller but if you add up the time they spent on my friends case she got $950 every two weeks for life. The lawyer got 15 percent and she did most of the scut work. How do you get your voice heard? Can a representated person go before a judge without a lawyer? Just stewing and frustrated as I get violated by the Adjuster and their doctors.

[backless]

You can sue anyone,But,do you have a case?you say W/C cut you off ,no wqarning.Have you tried calling the adjuster?you may get the answer there,however often they won't talk if you are represented by atty.You say atty.is doing nothing.It really don't make sense that atty.wont do anything because no income will then come of ther case for atty.About all atty.can do is 1)call the adjuster and send follow up letter 2)request a hearing ,and that may take time.Have you spoken to atty about the situation,if so ,what is the answer.If you cant get in touch with atty(which I know from my case happens,office workers are not very aggressive at getting comunication done)so take a trip to the office and insist someone give you your answers.Let us know in what way atty.is doing nothing.Atty's hands may be tied by the law and all that can be done is file paperwork to court.W/C is a horrible system for the injured worker ,as you have found.I had my carriedr file bankruptcy during my case.No communication was sent for 30 days,just got recordings.After 6 weeks the state was then supposed to take over,but last minute the company pulled a rabbit out of their hat and took the cases back over from the state,That then led to about another month of no payments.The way I found out they were going bankrupt was,my treating Dr.was to do a procedure on my spine.W/C had already hired trasportation to hospital.When I got there ,the hospital gave me the news.Then the transportation people were calling me for payment while I was at the hospital and weren'y going to bring me home.I gave my credit card info.(luckily had it with me)in case they didnt get paid.Otherwise I would have had to find another way back 85 miles.Didn't mean to ramble ,but,W/C is a nightmare fore many people,sorry your one.Insist on an answer from atty.But don't expect atty.to be able to immediatly fix it.

[White Light]

Riley2012,
Did you recently have a IME ( Independent Medical Exam ) appointment? Usually WC (Work Comp) will make what is called TTD payments to you on a regular basis and after awhile they order a IME exam. Usually once you have that exam they cut off all payments to you. They should notify you by a letter in the mail, sometimes it will be in a paragraph of another recent letter from the results of your IME. Don't panic this is normal, and we all go through it. It is at this point that you need to hire an attorney to see if they stopped payments with "Bad Faith" if they did and your attorney can prove it that is more money for you. Settlements can take years and sometimes decades, my advice is if you are PPD ( Permanent Partial Disabled) or PTD (Permanent Total Disabled) now is the time to file for SSID (Social Security Disability). More than likely you will be denied as we almost all are the first time, appeal right away, and request a hearing date with a ALJ. It can take up to 2-3 yrs just to get a hearing date. This is a long process, and WC wants you to lose everything and go broke so you will get desperate to settle for less. Be strong, there are programs out there to help get your medication. There are ways to deal with doctor bills, and sometimes you can get county medical once you file for SSID depending on your financial situation, as well as food stamps. Things will get worse, but they will also get better. Hope this helps! My advice is you would be shooting yourself in the leg by trying to sue an attorney, don't do it, and wait until your claim is done and file paperwork with your state bar for attorneys and they will be investigated as to either losing their license to practice law or not. If you try to sue an attorney now, NO attorney will touch you with a ten foot pole. Same goes for anything you might submit in writing that can hurt your chances if you attempt to represent yourself. Also, whatever you do, don't under no circumstances go up against WC without an attorney! Yes, you can by law do it, but I have seen many try and lose much more than they would have. Most attorneys for WC issues do not call you unless they have some type of progress to report or discuss. Riley2012 if you do not have an attorney yet, call around and ask each one if they represent the injured as well as insurance companies? If they do both, do not use this attorney, but find someone whom represents just those injured as that specialty will help fight more for you. Also keep in mind that a lot of bigger firms will rush your case through just for a quick buck. An independent attorney will fight for more as the more you get the more they get too. Be careful, because WC will have a PI (Private Investigator) watching you while you are at home and outside, shopping, or even have a so called nurse show up at your doctors office. (Whatever you do, do not let a nurse or claim agent or anything go into your appointment with you. Tell your doctor you do not know this person and if they would like to come in after your exam, with you present to discuss anything that this would be fine. Always after and never during, remember that.) You must watch what you say at your doctors visits as they write it in your file, be careful talking out in public too. You are being watched so don't do anything stupid. They are just waiting for a perfect photo opportunity to show you are a fake, and they will stop at nothing to get it. They even watch you after the settlement. Good Luck! and Hang in There.................

Sorry, if this is a bit rampid, but most of us are on some type of pain medication for our injuries.

White Light

[Riley2012]

Thanks for posting for me. I appreciate you just not looking and staring without attempting to help. This forum has been a great help. I have had two QME's for one part of my body on the Defense side and one with the other. I for the Plantiff's side have had three for my side ruling in my favor and two in my other area of complaint. The doctors have been excellent in my side the others I can really say are Paid liars for the insurance side of the equation. They were aggressive and confrentational. In my case we have not past the QME side of the equation. This has been going on for five years. So I guess my lawyer needs to get to a hearing. I understand it maybe childish to think my lawyer is lazy since he does not get paid. My friend's case went on for eleven years and i hear of longer and shorter periods depending on your dx or claim. I wish you all some kind of peace and thank you all.

[White Light]

First I want to say, "Welcome to the forum." Riley2012, it sounds like you have a good chance so long as you are patient, and stay focussed. Try to start a WC file drawer if you haven't already. Save all your checks to prove what you were paid. Save all your prescription paperwork with there receipts, and remember they have to pay you for your milage to and from the pharmacy, doctor, rehab, or anything pertaining to WC.

Also try to get a copy of all your medical records from any and all doctors whom treated you. Do not forget anything with the hospitals too, if you had x-rays, MRI's, CT scans, Discogram, myleogram, anything. If you have any imaging as just noted ask if they can put them an a CD for you most places charge you for the films, but they don't charge you for the CD copy. It is very important to have all this. Yes, an attorney will ask you to sign a paper giving them the right to collect this information too, but it is important to have this because things tend to disappear over the years, and you will always have an original to fax.

Most attorneys wait to see what kind of rating you will have, as well as you must have reached your maximum healing stated by at least two treating physicians. This is when your attorney can start doing more.

It is best to try to get your disability over with first, make sure you file for state Medicaid too, not just SSID. This way you may get both to help you in the long run. There are supplemental insurance fees as well as other fees not coverred by Medicare. Make sure you address this with your attorney and make sure these extra fees are added up for WC to cover.

Go for your SSID first because it takes awhile, and also once the government classifies you as being PPD, PTD or whatever rating you receive, then it is harder for the WC Insurance Co. to dispute your rating, the government is never wrong.

Sit tight and play WC's little game, but play it smart, after all none of us wake up and chose to get hurt today. Best of luck, and remember the more you do on your own to help your attorney, the faster you will reach a settlement in the future, but it still takes years and sometimes decades.

Whatever you do, don't give up! Stay strong, and if you need help or have any questions, ask your attorney or give a new post and we will all do our best to help give a suggestion to you.

Best of luck my friend!

White Light

[KBdacheesehead]

Hoy Boy can I relate to this topic. I read through the WI WC laws and swore it read 80 weeks of TTD. I hit 52 weeks and WHAM - the checks stopped. Heard nothing from lawyer and when call finally returned I'm told I am at a max recovery evaluation. WHUT?

SO I worked a part time job because I was starting my business. WC tells me PT income is primary and I can't do anything else. Lawyer tells me shut business down, or I'll be viewed as able (long story there). WHUT?

So now it's been 11 weeks since my last check, I'm ready to sell a kidney. Now I'm reading PPD can take years? I'm 44 years old and have worked my entire life - this is what I get? Non-stop kicks to my nether regions for an employer breaking me. A Lawyer advising me to get a procedure I don't want because it will have more settlement value and my husband working full time and now looking at a PT job just so we can survive --not live, SURVIVE.

I've written every government agency I could think of, requesting they live under same laws I do and get injured to understand the plight of the injured working person. No response.
*sigh*

KB

[Shown]

Oh how I understand, I am the caregiver, however since he suffers a brain injury, I do most of the talking for the both of us most of the time. Today at 10:45 he has a new Dr visit this time with a Dr from the Texas Division of Insurance. I too have wrote state agencies and my letters to Governor Rick Perry has aided my husband. His attorney sucked (to be nice about it) All he asked was to go and see a doctor that could diagnosis his brain injury and get on the proper medication. WC denied that visit and that was in October 06. He hired the attorney then and stated that all he wanted was medical treatment well you know them all they wanted was weekly benefits so they got paid, which they got and when the money ran out they hauled butt, leaving hubby still with no medical help. She would tell me some bs story that she was the judical side and didnt care about the medical. We finally found a neuro that is treating my hubby free of charge and gives him his meds. Thank you Lord there is a caring physician out there. So long story short we found a miracle man in December 07, but that just means that my hubby suffered untreated seizures for over a year and has irreversible brain damage. Medicine is working wonders he is functioning now, now a day later and a dollar short, after we have lost everything.

All we are hoping and praying comes out of this visit is medical care I would really like to pay this man that has given him his life back, but it doesnt matter he will get great care without it.

It doesnt seem fair that WC can treat people this way but hell they do it and get away with it. I am in perfect health (I know cause I just got out of the hospital) but dealing with all of this with WC I have had 4 mini strokes, and my only risk factor is stress. Our 19 year old daughter is being treated for stress. This has to be addressed, this is wrong.

Personally I want to sue the attorney and the insurance carrier not only for what they didnt do for hubby but what they did to me.

Shown

[michael178]

work comp claims are generally monitored by the state's division or department of insurance, you can file a complaint with them about how you are treated. Insurance companies (at least in my day) were very sensitive about these complaints. The state has the power to set their rates, and can refuse to let them do business in the state if there are too many complaints. It is the state's job to insure that you are treated right, so complain to them. And let the governor's office know how his insurance division is doing.