Legal Question in Workers Comp in Florida

Yes it's legal. Worse, when a worker has an injury on the job, the employer, the work comp insurance company, the adjuster, the medical coordinator and the doctors are all working in concert together in the employer's favor. They choose the doctors you see and normally these doctors get a lot of business from the insurance companies. In such situations, the doctor feels that they are really working for the employer and not you, the patient. Basically, this means that they work together to get the worker back to work as soon as possible to prove that they are not disabled. If you return to work, even if its light duty, you are proving that you are not disabled even if you work with pain and limitations. The WC law in Florida rewards those workers who are unable to return to work due to their injuries with BIG settlements, and punishes those workers who go back to light duty with pain and problems with a small settlement. To make matters worse, many workers get fired or terminated weeks or months after returning to work since the employer usually looks upon an injured worker as a disloyal worker and a future headache or liability. I don't mean to scare you but I've represented injured workers for over 30 years in South Florida, and this is usually the way things happen. Of course, until you are fired, the employer, adjuster and doctor are trained to be "nice" to you, and persuade you not to see a lawyer claiming wrongly that the lawyer will take your money. My advice to you is to get the best work comp lawyer who represents only workers not employers that you can find. There is no fee unless they get you a benefit and the Judge must approve of the fee so no lawyer will ever ask you to reach in your pocket to pay. There simply isn't any reason NOT to hire a lawyer especially if the injury is bad and you think you might have trouble finding another job with your medical problems. If you have any Qs, feel free to email me at [email protected]

Robert Shapiro

Miami