Any work-related injury or illness can have a devastating impact on your life. Fortunately, as a worker in Aventura, Florida, you may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits to offset your medical bills, lost wages, and disability. The experienced Aventura workers’ compensation lawyers at Shaked Law Personal Injury Lawyers can help you fight to get the maximum benefits package you deserve.
Since 2007, Shaked Law Personal Injury Lawyers has been a trusted resource for injured workers and grieving families in Aventura and throughout South Florida. With a team that includes Board Certified Civil Trial Specialists, Members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and Super Lawyers, we’re known and respected for our passionate representation and top-level results.
We’ve won hundreds of millions in benefits, settlements, and jury awards for our clients. Now we’re ready to help you achieve the best outcome in your claim for workers’ compensation benefits.
Call our law office in Aventura, FL, at (305) 937-0191 to arrange a free, no-obligation case evaluation today.
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How Our Aventura Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help With Your Claim for Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Workers’ compensation benefits can help to offset the financial burdens and stress you experience after getting hurt on the job. However, getting your employer’s insurance company to pay a fair amount can be a challenge.
Adjusters might try to downplay your injuries, challenge your status as a qualifying employee, and take other actions that could jeopardize your opportunity to get the full financial payout you deserve.
Shaked Law Personal Injury Lawyers can help. Our Aventura personal injury lawyers have 100+ years of combined experience. We’ve taken on powerful insurance companies and tough employers, winning top results for our clients in the process.
You don’t just get a fierce legal advocate in your corner when you choose Shaked Law Personal Injury Lawyers, you get a compassionate one.
We know how hard things are for you right now, so we’re ready to handle all aspects of your claim for benefits for you:
- Gather medical records, work history, wage statements, tax returns, and other documents needed to support your claim for benefits
- Help you obtain appropriate medical treatment from a qualifying provider
- Schedule an Independent Medical Exam (IME), if necessary, to counter allegations that your injuries are not serious or debilitating
- Ensure that all filing deadlines and notice requirements are satisfied
- Negotiate with your employer’s insurance company and work toward leveraging a fair settlement on your behalf
- Represent you during the appeals process if and when your claim for workers’ compensation benefits is denied
Take this time to get better. Let Shaked Law Personal Injury Lawyers handle everything else. Our law firm works on a contingency fee basis, so there’s no cost to you unless we win or settle your claim for workers’ compensation benefits. Call our Aventura law office to get started.
Overview of Florida’s Workers’ Compensation System
In Florida, workers’ compensation is an insurance system that:
- Provides an accelerated path to monetary benefits for workers who suffer job-related injuries or illnesses, and
- Protects employers from an onslaught of personal injury lawsuits when workers get hurt on the job.
When employers carry this type of insurance policy, benefits can be used to help employees stay on their feet while they recover.
Do All Employers in Aventura Have To Carry Workers’ Compensation Insurance?
Most employers in the State of Florida are legally required to carry workers’ compensation insurance.
This includes:
- Private employers with at least 4 employees
- Construction employers with at least 1 employee
- Agriculture employers with at least 6 employees
State agencies in the state of Florida are generally also required to carry workers’ compensation to protect their government employees.
How Do I Qualify for Workers’ Compensation in Florida?
You may qualify to receive workers’ compensation insurance benefits if you:
- Are a full-time, part-time, or seasonal employee
- Work for an employer who is legally required to carry workers’ compensation coverage, and
- Suffer a work-related injury or are diagnosed with an occupational disease.
Your injury (or illness) will be considered “work-related” if it’s sustained while you’re performing job-related tasks or responsibilities.
For example, let’s say you’re involved in a car accident. Your car accident injuries might be covered by workers’ compensation if you were running errands for your employer at the time of the accident. However, your crash wouldn’t be covered by workers’ compensation if you were commuting to or from work.
Can I Sue My Employer If I Recover Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
Generally speaking, no. In Florida, workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. As a result, you waive the right to sue your employer in exchange for an accelerated path to benefits.
However, you can reserve the right to sue your employer for intentionally harmful or grossly negligent conduct. You can also reserve the right to sue a third party who is liable for your workplace accident.
Can I Receive Workers’ Compensation Benefits If I’m Partly to Blame For My Workplace Accident?
The no-fault system might prevent you from suing your employer, but it protects you if your own negligence contributes to your workplace accident.
Under the Florida workers’ compensation system, contributory fault is not a bar to a limit to recovery.
Workers’ Compensation Benefits Available to Injured Workers in Aventura, FL
There are three types of benefits available through Florida’s workers’ compensation insurance program: medical benefits, lost wages and disability, and death benefits.
Medical Benefits
Your reasonable and necessary medical costs should be covered by workers’ compensation.
Costs and expenses that might be covered could include:
- Hospitalization
- Surgery
- Physical therapy
- Medication
- Prosthetics
- Medical devices and equipment
You may also qualify to be reimbursed for the cost of traveling to and from your doctor for treatment.
Keep in mind that you generally can’t just go to your own doctor for medical care. Costs will only be covered if you seek treatment from a provider that’s been pre-approved by the insurance company.
Lost Wages
Lost wage benefits can be paid when you are temporarily unable to work, can return to work in a limited capacity, suffer a permanent impairment that impacts your ability to work, or become permanently disabled and unable to work.
Temporary Total Disability (TTD)
Temporary Total Disability (TTD) helps to offset the sudden loss of income you experience when your work-related injury prevents you from working in any capacity.
TTD generally equals two-thirds of your average weekly wage (AWW) prior to your injury, subject to statutory caps. For 2023, the maximum AWW is $1,197.
Benefits are payable for a total of 104 weeks or until you reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI).
Temporary Partial Disability (TPD)
Once you can return to work in a limited capacity – often called restricted duty – you may qualify for Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits. These help to offset the gap in your wages after going back to work. TPD can equal 80 percent of the difference between your pre-and-post injury wages.
TPD is payable for a maximum of 104 weeks.
Impairment Income Benefits (IIB)
If you’ve reached MMI but still suffer from a permanent impairment that will affect your ability to work, you may qualify for Impairment Income Benefits (IIB). You can receive IIB benefits as long as your doctor assigns an Impairment Rating higher than 0.
Permanent Total Disability (PTD)
Permanent Total Disability (PTD) benefits can be awarded if your injuries are so severe that you can never return to work. This includes the inability to secure other work, different and apart from your normal occupation.
PTD benefits can equal two-thirds of your average weekly wage (subject to caps) until you turn 75.
Death Benefits
If a workplace accident in Aventura is fatal, surviving family members may be entitled to death benefits. Benefits can include $7,500 for a funeral, educational benefits, and lost wages.
What Types of Aventura Accidents and Injuries Can Workers’ Compensation Cover?
At Shaked Law Personal Injury Lawyers, our workers’ compensation attorneys in Aventura, FL, are here to help you fight for benefits in cases involving:
- Construction accidents
- Warehouse accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Falls from heights
- Warehouse accidents
- Manufacturing accidents
- Repetitive motion injury
- Traumatic brain injury
- Spinal cord injury
- Amputation
- Vision loss
- Hearing loss
- Burns
- Occupational illness or disease
- Electrocution
- Crushed by object
- Fatal workplace accident
Don’t hesitate to call our legal team in Aventura to discuss the details of your case and explore your legal options. We’re always available to provide the help you need, 24 hours a day.
How Long Do I Have To File a Claim for Workers’ Compensation Benefits in Florida?
Before you can file a claim, you’ll need to preserve your right to take legal action. To do this, you must report your work-related injury or illness to your employer right away. You’ll usually have 30 days from the date of injury or diagnosis to notify your employer.
As long as you’ve notified your employer, your workers’ compensation claim will typically be subject to a two-year statute of limitations.
If you don’t file your claim before the statute of limitations runs out, you risk losing out on valuable benefits.
Schedule a Free Consultation With an Experienced Aventura Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Were you recently injured while working in Aventura, Florida? Whether you work behind a desk, on a construction site, or driving an 18-wheeler, you qualify for a payment of workers’ compensation benefits.
Our Aventura workers’ compensation lawyers are ready to help you navigate your claim, take on the insurance company, and work toward a life-changing result.
Contact our law office serving Aventura, FL, and surrounding areas at (305) 937-0191 to get started with a free consultation now.