Legal Question in Workers Comp in Florida

I wish I could give you a simple yes or no answer, but like many things in law, there is no simple answer. Since you don't give much information, I'll try to give you the various options. If your employer has workers' compensation insurance which almost every employer with more than 2 or 3 employees has in Florida, your employer must report the injury within 7 days to their insurance carrier. The carrier or their representative may contact you about how you're feeling and to advise that you must obtain authorization before seeing any doctor unless it is an emergency. Under the law, specifically Fla. Statute Section 440.12, no compensation shall be allowed for the first 7 days of the disability, unless the injury results in disability of more than 21 days. Then, compensation shall be allowed from the very first day you were taken off work. You are entitled to approximately 2/3 or 66.67% of your "average weekly wage" which is calculated by averaging the 13 weeks you worked before the injury and taking 66.67% of that amount. The law also prohibits your employer from firing you for filing a work comp claim but it must be clear that it was the WC injury and not some other reason for your firing or termination. Oftentimes, the doctor chosen by the insurance carrier will disagree with the hospital doctor and state that you CAN return to work, perhaps with some restrictions or limitations on your functional abilities. I have seen many people who have been returned to light duty or regular duty and then fired or terminated several weeks or months later. This may happen because the WC insurance carrier tells your boss to get you back to work for weeks or months and then to fire you since your working proves that you are NOT disabled. As long as you can find another job easily, this shouldn't be a big problem. But, if you're in your 40's or 50's or older, and you cannot do the type of work you did previously because of your injury, you may have a tough time finding an employer willing to hire you. My advice: call a workers compensation specialist attorney who represents only claimants and not employers. YOu can look in the yellow pages or call the local bar association and every WC lawyer will not charge you for a consultation. If you still need help finding a lawyer, feel free to contact me at [email protected]