Workers' Comp Lawyer Tampa

Tampa Workers' Compensation Attorney

Back injuries • Brain injuries • Broken bones • Burns • Carpal tunnel • Cartilage injuries • Chronic pain syndrome • Eye injuries • Heavy lifting injuries • Ligament injuries • Mental or psychological injuries • Neck injuries • Occupational diseases or exposure injuries • Post surgical complications or residuals • Repetitive stress or trauma injuries, etc.

Workers' Comp

Types of Workers' Comp Claims

Work Injuries Lawyer Tampa

Why it is important to hire a work injuries lawyer in Tampa.

Being injured at a work is always a bad experience. Anyone who has ever filed a worker’s compensation case will let you know how complex these laws are and how difficult it is to tackle the case without legal help. That is why it is important to hire a work injuries lawyer in Tampa to represent you in your case and help you get the compensation you deserve. You will definitely like to partner with a lawyer who is experienced and skilled to provide you the best services.

The law firm that can help you get the compensation you deserve for your work injuries is Leo Gomez Law. Here at our law firm, you can get in touch with an experienced work injuries lawyer in Tampa. The law expert will help you, right from the start to finish, helping you get the right compensation.

Workers' Comp Claim Denied Attorney Tampa

Thinking about hiring a lawyer due to your workers' comp claim being denied?

If you are planning to meet a worker’s comp claim denied lawyer in Tampa to assess his capabilities or to get a feel whether he can handle your case or not, you should prepare a list of questions to ask. The most important question you should ask is their practice devoted to dealing worker’s compensation cases. You will always look for a specialist, so ensure the law expert has spent much time in helping individuals get the right compensation. Ask them about their fees and whether they will be able to give you status updates on a regular basis or not. These are few things you should consider while hiring a worker's comp claim denied lawyer in Tampa.

At the Law Office of Leo D. Gomez, we are a team of lawyers who can help you with the right representation of your case and help you get the right compensation.

Repetitive Stress Injuries Lawyer Tampa

Hire legal help for your repetitive stress injury case

You may think job injuries are a problem only for carpenters, fire fighters and farmers but people who work on construction sites, offices and other environments could also suffer an injury in the workplace. People who work in offices or perform light physical labor are more at risk of developing repetitive stress injuries. If your work requires you repeating certain movements on regular basis, you can also be a victim of this injury.

If you are a victim of repetitive stress injury, you should get in touch with a reliable repetitive stress injuries lawyer in Tampa to help you seek the right compensation. The lawyer will listen to your problems and needs carefully and help you guide through the entire process. In doing so, the legal professional will inform you of the types of benefits available to you. When you suffer from a condition related to a repetitive stress injury, the lawyer will guide you on how to file a strong workers’ compensation claim.

Workers' Compensation Death Benefits Attorney Tampa

Seek legal help in case of worker compensation death benefits

When a worker dies as a result of the work-related accident, he or she may leave behind loved ones who are shocked by the loss of their loved one and the financial crisis. The worker’s death can be caused in any type of accident that occurred while conducting job duties like falling from a scaffold, explosion or fire, exposure to chemicals or any other harmful chemicals. When it is a case of work-related death, the survivors of the deceased worker are eligible for workers' compensation death benefits.

The family of the deceased worker should not suffer extra hardships and should get in touch with a workers' compensation death benefits lawyer in Tampa to seek legal advice in a death claim. The compassionate lawyer will work to help the family in strengthening their economic future. So, if you are devastated by the loss of your loved one, get in touch with an experienced lawyer today.

Job-Site Accidents

Have you been injured at work?

After being injured at a job site, you will need a job site accidents lawyer that can help you get the compensation you deserve. There are a variety of injuries that a worker can suffer at the workplace. The goal of an injured worker is to secure sufficient financial compensation for the pain, suffering and the financial loss incurred. A professional and experienced attorney understands employment law nicely and what specific steps are needed to help the injured person get the right compensation. They will strive to understand the family struggles and will work hard to find the best outcomes.

If you or your loved one is a victim of job site accidents, you should get in touch with a lawyer that has a good reputation for helping injured workers get the right compensation. Take the help of online resources to shortlist some of them and then decide which one to hire.

Permanent and Temporary Disability Benefits

Understanding permanent and temporary disability benefits

When a worker is injured at the workplace, they are entitled to get the compensation they deserve. Along with the compensation, they can also be eligible for permanent or temporary disability benefits depending upon the severity of their injury. In both the scenarios, the worker should take help of an attorney who is capable to handle permanent and temporary disability benefits cases. Permanent disability refers to long lasting or life time disability that affects a person’s ability to perform their work. On the other hand, temporary disability refers to the injury that prevents a person from doing job for a short time. Once the recovery is there; they are capable to join work.

Whether you are seeking permanent disability benefits or temporary disability benefits, it is crucial to take help of a legal expert to help you through the entire process.

Resolution of Your Case

Resolve your legal disputes more effortlessly with mediation

Busy court dockets can result in years passing before cases can get to trial. Legal fees and expenses for a trial can total tens of thousands of dollars. Trial requires intense involvement of the parties at great emotional cost, as well as prolonged periods of time away from work and family. Trials are risky, with outcomes in the hands of a judge or jury. Trials are open proceedings which can be viewed by the general public and covered by the media. All of these are potential pitfalls involved with taking your civil case to trial.

As an alternative, you may want to consider hiring a civil mediation lawyer for effective resolution of your case without the time, expense, delay, stress and publicity of a trial.

Workers' Compensation Retaliation

Secure your workplace right with workers’ compensation claim

There are dozens of ways you can get injured at work, and when you do, there are many complications that may cause serious problems for you, including lost wages, medical expenses, and tensed relationship with your employer. For that reason, it is better to be prepared for the worst well ahead of time.

If you have suffered an injury because your company failed to comply with specific safety regulations, then you can file for a claim. However, if you are wrongly denied the claim or feel that your employer has retaliated against you, you may want to turn to an experienced worker's compensation retaliation attorney. An experienced attorney will be able to guide you through the process, so you finally get what you are owed.

Depression & Psychiatric Problems

Unfortunate Things Can Happen to Good People

Work injuries can occur to even the most careful, skilled employees. If you are injured while on the job, notify your employer of the injury right away. After you receive authorization, get medical attention for your injury.

Any injury that takes place while on the job is a workers' compensation injury. In many cases, the injury may not fit within the job description at first thought. For example, a dock worker might suffer from wrist pain or a truck driver might incur a fractured skull.

Experienced Legal Help Following Your Workplace Injury

If you need to discuss an injury you have sustained on the job or the workers' compensation benefits to which you may be entitled, call Tampa work injury lawyer Leo D. Gomez at 813-402-0793 or email us here: Leo@LGomezLaw.com. The initial consultation is free. Se habla español.

With over three decades of smart, determined advocacy on behalf of people who have suffered work injuries, our Tampa Bay law firm has successfully secured workers' compensation involving a wide variety of injuries and on-the-job accidents.

Call Now for a Free Consultation

If you have suffered an injury on the job, we can help you protect your employee rights: Call Leo D. Gomez at 813-402-0793.

What To Expect From The Florida Workers’ Compensation System

The Florida Workers’ Compensation Law (Chapter 440) was initially created to provide certain monetary and medical benefits to injured workers efficiently, and without delay. However, the workers’ compensation system as it presently exists is extremely complicated. Sweeping legislative changes made over the past twenty-five years have greatly limited benefits available to injured workers, made it more difficult to prove claims, and given employers and insurance companies tremendous control over medical treatment available to victims of on the job accidents. Any objective analysis of the law leads to the inescapable conclusion that despite its stated goals, the law currently seeks to advance the interests of industry to the detriment of those most responsible for its success: Florida’s work force. As a result, without legal representation, injured employees may not receive the benefits they need.

What to Do If You Are Injured On The Job

If you believe you have been injured while working in any way, you should immediately report your accident to your employer personally and request medical care. You should complete a “Notice of Injury” report and obtain a copy of it. You should report your accident to your employer’s workers’ compensation carrier directly as well. Remember that you only have 30 days from the date of your accident to report it to your employer. If your employer delays or resists your attempts to secure medical care, you should contact Leo right away.

Injured workers often hesitate to report their accidents for fear of retaliation from their employers. This is understandable. While the law specifically forbids the firing of an injured employee because he or she has filed a workers’ compensation claim, Florida is an “employment at will” state. All too frequently, employers begin attempts to discharge employees for alleged (and often contrived) job performance based issues, once they are injured. Please remember that even if you are fired from your job, you still have the right to compensation and medical care for your on the job injuries. If you believe you have been fired from your job because of filing a workers’ compensation claim, you should contact Leo for guidance.

Your Rights

Medical Care

You are entitled to medically reasonable and necessary treatment which is causally related to the injuries suffered in your accident. This means the workers’ compensation insurance company or carrier must cover all medical care you need as a result of your accident, whether it be in the form of office visits, diagnostic studies, physical therapy, surgery, etc.

Typically, your employer has the right to choose your initial medical provider. Should you become dissatisfied with your initial doctor, you do have the right to request a change of treating physician. However, you should be very careful about when to exercise this right, as you can only request a change in doctor once during the pendency of your claim. Moreover, as your employer and its workers’ compensation carrier also have the right to choose your “new” treating doctor, you should consult with Leo before taking this important step.

You also have the right to an independent medical examination (IME) by a physician of your choice. Again, you should consult with Leo regarding not only when to request an IME, but what type of specialist to consider for purposes of an IME, as well.

One issue injured workers frequently have to contend with involves “pre-existing conditions”. As the law indicates that medical evidence must show the industrial accident is “the major contributing cause” of the work related injury, insurance companies often seek to deny claims if the injured worker has suffered accidents, injuries, or illnesses, in the past. For that reason it is vitally important you disclose any and all past health issues completely, no matter how minor you may believe them to be, when seeing a workers’ compensation doctor for treatment of your on the job injuries. If you fail to provide an accurate medical history, the insurance company will almost certainly deny your right to medical care on the grounds you have “misrepresented” your past medical history in an effort to fraudulently secure workers’ compensation benefits. If your right to medical care is denied by the insurance company, you should immediately contact Leo for assistance.

Compensation

Compensation is not allowed for the first 7 days of disability caused by an on-the-job injury. However, if the injury results in disability of more than 21 days, compensation is paid at the rate of 66.7 percent of your pre-injury average weekly wage. Once you reach “maximum medical improvement” or “M.M.I.”, your eligibility for temporary benefits ends, and your eligibility for permanent benefits, begins.

There are different classifications of compensation benefits available to injured workers :

TEMPORARY TOTAL DISABILITY BENEFITS

These are benefits which are payable while you’re on “no work” or “T.T.D.” status, at the rate mentioned above. There must be objective medical evidence to document your disability. Therefore, it is very important that you keep all your doctors’ appointments; failure to complete prescribed treatment can prolong your disability and result in termination of your compensation benefits.

TEMPORARY PARTIAL DISABILITY BENEFITS

These are benefits which may be payable when you have been released to work with limitations or restrictions, but have yet to reach a point of “maximum medical improvement (M.M.I.)”. Temporary partial disability benefits or “T.P.D.” is payable at a rate equal to 80 percent of the difference between 80 percent of your average weekly wage and the salary you’re able to earn post-injury. However, weekly T.P.D. benefits may not exceed an amount equal to 66 and 2/3 or 66.7 per cent of your average weekly wage at the time of your accident.

Injured workers are eligible for a maximum of 260 weeks of temporary benefits.

IMPAIRMENT INCOME BENEFITS

Impairment income benefits ( “I.I.B.’s”) are payable once your authorized doctor(s) state you have reached a point of maximum medical improvement, and assign you a permanent impairment rating (P.I.R.) to the body as a whole. M.M.I. does not mean that you are “cured”, or have recovered from your work related injuries 100 percent. Rather, M.M.I. signifies the point after which your authorized treating doctor(s) don’t believe your condition can be expected to improve.

Injured employees are often released from care once they attain M.M.I. However, your right to authorized medical treatment for your work related injuries continues, even after being placed at maximum medical improvement. To keep your right to medical care for your work related injuries alive, you must be treated by a doctor authorized by your insurance company within one (1) year from the date you were last seen by an authorized doctor. If you fail to do so, your right to further medical care at the expense of your insurance company will forever terminate by legal operation of the statute of limitations. For that reason you should insist on receiving medical treatment for your work related injuries at least every six (6) months. If you call your insurance adjuster for permission to see your authorized doctor(s) and do not receive prompt attention, call Leo for immediate assistance. Unfortunately, some insurance adjusters will intentionally ignore or delay your request, in the hopes that the statute of limitations will run against your case.

Impairment income benefits are paid bi-weekly at the rate of 75 percent of your average weekly temporary total disability benefit rate; however, IIB’s shall be reduced by 50 percent for each week in which you earn income equal to or in excess of your pre-injury average weekly wage.

You are entitled to impairment befits for the following time periods:

Two (2) weeks for each percentage point of impairment from 1 percent up to and including 10 percent.
Three (3) weeks for each percentage point of impairment from 11 percent up to and including 15 percent.
Four (4) weeks for each percentage point from 16 per cent up to and including 20 percent.
Six (6) weeks for each percentage point of impairment from 21 percent and higher.

PERMANENT TOTAL DISABILITY BENEFITS

If you suffer catastrophic work related injuries or can prove you are physically incapable of engaging in at least sedentary employment within a 50 mile radius of your residence, you are eligible for Permanent Total Disability (P.T.D.) benefits. Permanent Total Disability benefits are paid at the rate of 66.7 percent of your average weekly wage. Your eligibility for P.T.D. ends when you reach the age of 75.

The Statute Of Limitations

Like many aspects of the Florida Workers’ Compensation Law, application of the statute of limitations can be confusing.

Injured workers have two (2) years from the date of accident to file a workers’ compensation lawsuit, or “petition for benefits,” against their employer and workers’ compensation carrier. Once more than two years from the date of accident has elapsed, injured workers must file a petition for benefits within one (1) year from the date they last received monetary benefits from the carrier, or within one (1) year from the date they were last furnished medical treatment authorized by the carrier. Failure to adhere to these time constraints will result in your right to monetary or medical benefits for your on the job injuries being FOREVER BARRED by legal operation of the statute of limitations.

It is YOUR responsibility to seek authorized medical care or file a petition for benefits, on a timely basis. Your insurance adjuster will certainly not assist you by reminding you to do so, as it is in the workers’ compensation carrier’s best interests for you to allow the statute of limitations to run against your case.

Protect your rights! If you have any questions or concerns about a potential workers’ compensation claim, contact Leo IMMEDIATELY at 1-855-LDGOMEZ for a free consultation, which can take place at his office, your home, or any other location which is convenient for you. Leo is always ready to provide you with prompt answers to your questions, aggressive representation, and will personally handle your case to its conclusion. And remember: workers’ compensation cases are handled on a contingency basis. You pay no fees or costs unless Leo successfully obtains benefits on your behalf.