When involved in a car accident on the job, the intersection between auto insurance and L&I or workman’s compensation can be confusing if it’s your first time going through it. While we always recommend you take the time to speak to our qualified professional personal injury attorneys at Seattle Injury Law at (800) 928-5486, below are some pointers to help you get off to the right start.
Always opt to sign the third-party election form
Labor and Industries will offer to handle your personal injury accident through them — this is a big mistake. Rather than be sure that you get fair compensation for your injuries in a car accident on the job, L&I will be looking to settle the case quickly. Their focus is to get only enough to be sure they get paid back for any monies they have paid towards your medical bills. However, you have the ability to elect to pursue your own case (still using L&I to pay the medical bills), which is exactly what you should do. This way, you’re able to put your own interests at the forefront and be sure you get the compensation you deserve, for your injuries now and in the future.
Prioritize medical care with outside physicians
Labor and Industries will want to send you to their doctors, who are paid by L&I and who often suggest through their medical records that the injured party is healed and should return to work and settle their case long before it is appropriate to do so. This is to cut off the flow of money for treatment and lay the groundwork for a low and quick settlement. To combat this, seek care with outside physicians who aren’t tied to the labor and industries or Workman’s compensation system. These providers are much more likely to support your case from a medical perspective.
HIRE AN ATTORNEY
The attorneys at our office work strictly on a contingency fee, which means we only get paid when we win for you. This, of course, makes certain that we do everything we can do make you happy and obtain the highest level of compensation, all while serving you, our client. We rely heavily on our solid reputation for repeat clients and take the opportunity to serve you like the privilege it is.
When our office handles cases, we put the client at the forefront and handle everything, head to toe, in their personal injury accident. This includes speaking with Labor and Industries, handling all contact with all insurance companies involved, and all medical providers involved. Included in our service is your wage loss claim, mileage to and from your appointments, and of course the medical care and pain and suffering aspects of your case. Please check our reviews for real-life testimonials from happy clients who are thankful they involved us early in their cases.
Reimbursement of Labor and Industries and the positive effect of attorneys fees
Labor and Industries will include in their contact with you or your employer that in the event that you are injured by the fault of another, they get paid back out of YOUR settlement, and oftentimes before you get paid. However, the case law is very clear that when you hire an attorney to ensure the best recovery for YOU, we are in charge of negotiating down the Labor and Industries lien, and you as the injured worker will sign off on any accounting from our office. Included in the controlling case law is a provision that allows our office to AUTOMATICALLY reduce the labor and industries lien by the percentage of your legal fees. In essence, Labor and Industries pay your attorneys fees for money they pay on medical bills. This can often make a difference of thousands of dollars, and depending on the size of the case, can mean we can reduce the labor and industries lien by hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars.
We realize that navigating these types of cases can be difficult, confusing, and at times discouraging. If you were in a car accident on the job, we encourage you to take the opportunity to talk to our office, free of charge and 24/7. We’re here to help.