Hendersonville Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
Our Hendersonville workers’ comp attorneys help employees obtain temporary and permanent work disability benefits
Workers in Hendersonville perform many different types of jobs, including jobs in education, the arts, retail, hospitality, law enforcement, and other work sectors. The people who work at these jobs are entitled to file workers’ compensation claims if they are injured in an accident or due to their work. Workers who suffer from a work-related occupational disease can also file a workers’ compensation claim. Claimants must be employees. At Rocky McElhaney Law Firm, our Hendersonville workers’ compensation lawyers are skilled at showing workers are eligible for the full medical, temporary, and permanent benefits Tennessee law permits. We’re skilled at obtaining these benefits, negotiating claims, and arguing cases before state workers’ compensation referees. Call us today to discuss your rights.
Rocky McElhaney Law Firm: Car Accident & Injury Lawyers
475 Saundersville Rd.
Hendersonville, TN 37075
(615) 932-8600
How can we help?
- What is workers’ compensation?
- What benefits can I receive while I’m trying to improve my health in Hendersonville?
- What benefits can I receive if I’m permanently disabled?
- How do your Hendersonville workers’ compensation lawyers fight for employees?
- What types of employee work claims do you handle in Hendersonville?
- Do you handle all types of injuries in Hendersonville work injury claims?
- Do you handle all types of illnesses in Hendersonville occupational illness claims?
- Do you have a Hendersonville workers’ compensation lawyer near me?
What is workers’ compensation?
Workers make a lot of sacrifices to help their employers and the communities they live in. Workers are the lifeblood of Tennessee and America. Most every state has a workers’ compensation program that helps employees return to work when they’re injured by paying the medical expenses. The program also helps workers receive substantial, but not full, compensation while they’re seeking medical care if they cannot work due to their injuries.
Generally, Hendersonville employers must have workers’ compensation insurance if they have five or more employees. Construction employers must have workers’ compensation insurance if they have just one employee. You must notify your employer or a manager within 15 days of any accident.
Our Hendersonville workers’ compensation lawyers are skilled at showing that workers are eligible. The eligibility requirements are:
- You must be an employee.
- Your injuries must be working within the scope of your employment.
There are a few key differences between workers’ compensation claims and personal injury claims. In workers’ compensation claims:
- You do not need to prove your employer was negligent. You may not be eligible if your injuries are due to intentional misconduct.
- You cannot claim pain and suffering damages.
- You are entitled to payment of all your medical bills for as long as you need medical help to improve your health or to stay healthy.
- You are generally paid 2/3 of your lost wages while you can’t work.
- You may be entitled to vocational benefits if you can’t work at your old job but can be trained for a new one.
You can file a product liability claim if defective workplace machinery, equipment, or tools caused your injuries.
Hendersonville employees select their doctors from a panel of doctors prepared by their employer. In some cases, we may be able to request the right to switch to a doctor the employee prefers – such as if the doctor just isn’t competent.
What benefits can I receive while I’m trying to improve my health in Hendersonville?
Injured and ill workers receive temporary disability benefits. These benefits include:
- All your medical bills, including ER care, hospitalizations, surgeries, physical therapy, occupational therapy, assistive devices, medications, and any reasonable medical expenses.
- A proportional share (generally 2/3) of your average weekly wages before you stopped working. The share may be subject to caps.
- Vocational benefits if you can’t return to work at your old job and can be trained for a new one – such as switching from a manual labor job to a desk job.
If you can return to light work with work restrictions (such as limits on the weight of the objects you might have to lift), an adjustment is made to your wage benefits.
You receive these temporary disability benefits until you can return to work or you reach the point where additional medical treatments won’t improve your medical condition. At that time, you will be evaluated to determine if you have a permanent disability.
What benefits can I receive if I’m permanently disabled?
To obtain permanent disability benefits, you need to be evaluated by a physician. The evaluation takes place once you’ve reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) – the point when additional medical care won’t help you.
The evaluation:
- Verifies what injury you have.
- The severity of the injury. The severity is scored by using a percentage. For example, the severity of your spinal cord damage may be scored at 80%. This means you’ll receive 80% of 2/3 of your average weekly wages. The percentage is called an impairment rating.
- What job tasks you can perform.
- Whether you can return to work based on your job, the tasks you can do, your education, your age, and other factors.
If you have a partial permanent disability, your wage loss benefits will be adjusted to reflect the income you can earn because you can work.
Permanent disability benefits generally last until you are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits.
How do your Hendersonville workers’ compensation lawyers fight for employees?
Some of the many ways our respected Hendersonville workers’ compensation lawyers fight for injured employees include the following:
- Explaining your rights
- Reviewing the notice requirements you need to give to your employer
- Filing your workers’ compensation claim
- Reviewing with the doctors you’re seeing, what medical care you need, your diagnosis, your prognosis, and your ability/inability to return to work
- Working to show you are eligible to file your claim based on your employment status and when and how the accident happened
- Discussing your ability to switch doctors
- Preparing you for any medical exams including an independent medical exam and a review of your permanent disability status
- Verifying your average weekly wages
- Preparing you for any mediations or hearings
- Contesting the attempts by the insurance companies or defense lawyers to deny your claim, terminate your benefits, or contest the need for medical care – such as that you had a preexisting medical condition or were not cooperating with your nurse case manager
- Negotiating your claim including negotiating lump sum settlements
- Being a strong advocate for you in court
Our Hendersonville workers’ compensation attorneys will prepare you for each stage of your claim.
What types of employee work claims do you handle in Hendersonville?
Our Hendersonville worker’s compensation lawyers are ready to handle your claim if you work in any job sector, including the following:
- Manufacturing
- Firefighting and police work
- Medical care
- Education
- Retail
- Hospitality
- Restaurant service
- Transportation
- Construction
- Plumbing
- Professional services
- Nonprofit work
We’ll represent you no matter how your accident happened, including the following types of accidents:
- Falls from heights
- Falls on level grounds
- Machinery and equipment accidents
- Power tool and power line accidents
- Infections
- Overexertion
- Car, truck, and other types of motor vehicle accidents
- Exposure to chemical toxins
- Heat exposure
- Radiation exposure
- Repetitive stress accidents
- Lifting accidents
- Workplace violence
Do you handle all types of injuries in Hendersonville work injury claims?
Some injuries are more likely to happen to workers who do physical labor. Some injuries are fairly unique to medical workers. Many injuries are common to every type of work. At Rocky McElhaney Law Firm, we are skilled at handling all types of serious work injuries, including:
- Traumatic brain injuries, concussions, and other types of head trauma
- Spinal cord injuries, including paralysis
- Traumatic amputation
- Burn injuries
- Fractures/broken bones
- Back, neck, and shoulder injuries
- Loss of hearing
- Loss of vision
- Repetitive stress injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome and bursitis.
- Infections
- Internal bleeding and organ damage
- Nerve, ligament, muscle, tissue, and tendon damage
- Penetrating wound injuries
Often, the insurance companies for the employer will try to force you back to work before you’re ready. Our Hendersonville workers’ compensation lawyers are skilled at fighting to ensure you receive the medical care you need and that you only return to work if and when you’re fully able to work.
Rocky McElhaney’s workers’ compensation lawyers seek death benefits on behalf of spouses and defendants when work is the cause of a loved one’s death.
Do you handle all types of illnesses in Hendersonville occupational illness claims?
Our Hendersonville workers’ compensation lawyers also have the experience and medical relationships to show you have an occupational illness. We’ll work to show you qualify. The requirements are:
- You must be an employee
- Your illness or disease must be due to your work
- Your illness or disease cannot be reasonably attributable to nonworkplace conditions
Some of the many types of occupational diseases our Hendersonville workers’ compensation lawyers handle are:
- Hearing loss
- Heat stroke
- Exposure to chemical toxins
- Heart disease
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Infectious diseases
- Respiratory diseases such as asthma, COPD, lung diseases,
- Skin diseases, such as various types of dermatitis and allergic reactions
- Carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive stress injuries that may not qualify as injuries
- Tendonitis
- Back disorders
- Lung cancer
- Leukemia
- Mesothelioma
- Industrial diseases
- Many other illnesses
Our attorneys work with physicians who are skilled at preparing reports and testifying about these medical disorders, why your illness is work-related, and why your illness prevents you from working.
Do you have a Hendersonville workers’ compensation lawyer near me?
At Rocky McElhaney Law Firm, our Hendersonville workers’ compensation lawyers meet clients at our office located at 475 Saundersville Road. We conduct consultations by phone and through video conferences when necessary. We also meet injured or ill workers away from the office when necessary.
We’ll answer all your questions, explain your rights, and guide you through each phase of the claims process.
Speak with an experienced Hendersonville workers’ compensation lawyer now
Don’t delay. You need to notify your employer promptly. You need to file your claim promptly. The sooner you file your claim, the sooner you can begin the medical care you need and begin receiving your share of wage loss benefits. Our seasoned Hendersonville workers’ compensation lawyers help employees assert their rights and defend against every attempt to deny or reduce your claim. We’re skilled negotiators and trial lawyers. Contact us or fill out our contact form today to schedule an appointment in Hendersonville, Nashville, East Nashville, Clarksville, and Murfreesboro We represent workers throughout Tennessee.