When you're put in a position where you're compelled to file a worker's compensation claim, you might be at your most vulnerable place physically, financially, and emotionally. These factors can lead to many people seeking worker's compensation to miss out on sometime thousands of dollars available to them.

Here are some of the ways you and your lawyer can make sure that worker's compensation works hard for you when you file a claim.

Maxing Out Your Coverage

Missed wages and medical expenses are among the most common worker's compensation items included on claims. However, there are additional items you might want to add to your claim.

Ongoing Care Costs: recovering from a serious illness or injury you sustain at work isn't likely to be resolved in a single visit to the ER. Calculating the costs associated with your potentially prolonged road to recovery is often miscalculated or omitted entirely from worker's compensation claims. For instance, if you break a leg at work, you'll need to consider the physical therapy and subsequent doctor's visits that will likely be required to fully recover from the injury. One of the primary jobs of a worker's compensation lawyer is to review the extent of your injury, obtain written opinions from various medical professionals detailing the care you'll likely need, total the anticipated costs of the ongoing care you'll need, and submit all the information along with your claim.   

Transportation: if your injury renders you unable to drive and/or requires you to travel to seek specialized medical care, your worker's compensation claim should include these costs. Your worker's compensation attorney can help you figure out how to expense your mileage and/or submit reimbursement forms for costs you may not have included on your original claim.

Caregiving: if you're a primary caregiver and your injury/illness prevents you from rendering caregiving, you can seek fanatical restitution for expenses associated with paying for additional caregiving. This includes caregiving for children, disabled adults, or elderly family members.

Leveling Up to Your Standard

One of the most insidious aspects of a worker-related injury is that it can leave you unable to perform your job again. This can have serious consequences for you from a career and financial standpoint.

Lost Future Income: if the injury and/or illness you sustained at work will prevent you from reentering the workforce where you left off, you should strongly consider the lost future income. For instance, if you were highly skilled tradesmen who performed a physically demanding job, you might not be able to physically handle the job ever again. If your employer doesn't have an equal and/or better position for you financially, they should be financially responsible for your lost future income. This might also include the future contributions you might make to a retirement pension and/or future commissions you might have made based on your career financial earnings. Your worker's compensation lawyer can review your career income, retirement plan, pension data, and commission history and compare them to industry projections for workers similar to you.

Quality of Life: the quality of life you had before you injury should also be the quality of life you look to get back to. For instance, if an illness causes you serious respiratory issues and one of your favorite hobbies was jogging, you may need serious physical therapy to get you  back to running again. Your worker's compensation lawyer can help you articulate the costs and needs you'll likely need to get back the quality of life you once had. Because these types of claims can sometimes feel unrelated to work, many people neglect them when they file their claims.

For more information, contact a worker's compensation lawyer.