Occupational Workplace Injuries/ Workers Compensation
Workers' Compensation Lawyers
Every year, 10,000 workers are killed in work-related accidents; 60,000 workers are permanently disabled; six million are injured; and 100,000 die from illnesses related to exposure to products like lead and asbestos. The Law Office of G. Patrick Jacobs is committed to helping injured workers obtain monetary and rehabilitative relief. The firm handles a caseload of over 400 workers' compensation cases at any given time and is active in lobbying before the West Virginia legislature for changes in and additions to the laws protecting the rights of the injured workers. Pat Jacobs is a defender of workers right and often been quoted as saying "in these days and times, criminals have more rights than injured workers." Additionally, in the government's and big business's war against the poor Pat Jacobs is a leading advocate for injured workers and disabled individuals rights. Pat Jacobs, for over 28 years, has lead the fight for injured workers and disabled individuals.
If you or someone you love has been injured at work anywhere in West Virginia, you need our experienced workers' compensation attorneys on your side to help you get the compensation you deserve.
Who Needs a Workers' Compensation Policy?
If a business employs workers on a regular, casual or contract basis, it must obtain a workers' compensation insurance policy. All West Virginia employers have a legal obligation to provide their employees with a safe workplace and must purchase insurance to provide compensation to workers who are injured in the course of their work regardless of who is at fault.
How Do I File for My Workers' Compensation Benefits?
Filing a workers' compensation claim is easy. You, your employer or the physician who treated you can report the injury to the West Virginia Office of Workers' Compensation, which administers the workmen's compensation law.
The West Virginia Office of Workers' Compensation will make a report to your employer's insurance carrier. The carrier then has a short period of time, usually ten to thirty days, within which to decide if the claim is valid. If accepted, the doctor's fees and any disability payments are paid according to a fee schedule set by West Virginia state.
If you are temporarily unable to work due to the injury, you'll begin receiving checks to cover your wage loss within 15 days from your injury after your claim has been approved. Your employer will notify the insurance company to discontinue the wage-replacement checks as soon as you recover and return to work.
What Does My Workers' Compensation Policy Cover?
Depending on the individual claim and the severity of your injury, you may be eligible for all or some of the following payments:
- Weekly benefits
- Medical or related treatment
- Occupational rehabilitation services
- Ambulance service
- Hospital treatment
- Travel expenses to attend appointments for medical and other treatment
- Lump sums for permanent impairment
- Lump sums for pain and suffering
- Vocational re-education and retraining, work aids and equipment and/or work trials
- When the injury results in the death of the worker, the dependent family members may be eligible for death benefits and/or funeral expenses