Committed to vigorous and thorough representation of injury victims throughout Alabama while exercising the highest degree of professional, ethical and moral standards.

Worker's Compensation

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (a division of the United States Department of Labor), nationwide 3.6 million workers suffered work related injuries in 2009. This means that 3.6 out of every 100 workers in America was injured. During this same period, 4,340 workers lost their lives in work place accidents. Not surprisingly, the majority of job related injuries and deaths occurred in the manufacturing and construction industries.

But laws are different when it comes to workplace accidents. Employees who are injured while at work in Alabama are entitled to compensation for their injuries only to the extent provided for in Alabama’s Workers’ Compensation Act. In death cases, families may also be entitled to compensation as provided in the Act. Employees who have suffered a work injury should seek the advice of a law firm that is well-recognized for its experience and expertise in injury cases.

Generally, an injured employee's sole remedy against his or her employer is to pursue a workers' compensation claim to recover those benefits enumerated in Alabama’s Workers’ Compensation Act. Alabama’s workers' compensation system is designed to ensure that injured workers receive fixed monetary awards for their work-related injuries or illnesses, without having to prove fault on anyone's part to receive benefits.

Sounds simple, but it isn’t. Unfortunately, the benefits under the Alabama’s Workers' Compensation Act often do not fully compensate an injured worker for the injuries suffered or the disability that may result. In workers' compensation claims a worker's benefits are generally limited to lifetime medical treatment for the work injury, disability compensation and a monetary award for permanent impairment or disabilities. Disability benefits and monetary awards are generally “capped” pursuant to certain schedules. These “caps” usually result in modest compensation when compared with the salaries workers were earning immediately prior to their injuries. All monetary benefits recoverable in a claim for workers’ compensation are based on the “average weekly earnings” by the employee in the year immediately prior to the work accident. Thus, calculating the “average weekly earnings” and the resulting “weekly benefit” correctly may have a substantial impact on the value of the claim.

The limitations placed on periodic disability payments, for example, usually result in modest compensation when compared with the salaries workers were earning immediately prior to their injuries. In other words, benefits often fall short of your old paycheck.

In many situations, however, injured workers can pursue both a workers' compensation claim and a lawsuit against a responsible party so long as the responsible party is not the employer or a co-employee. These cases are known as "third-party" cases (you are the first party, your employer is the second party, and the other entity or person you can sue is the third party).
An example of a third-party case is where the employee is injured on the job due to a defective product, such as a machine or a tool. In that situation, the employee may be entitled to pursue a products liability lawsuit against the manufacturer or supplier of the defective product. While pursuing the third-party claim the employee may still receive benefits through his employer's workers' compensation insurance. There are usually complicated issues involving multiple parties when pursuing these types of claims. In the skilled hands of an experienced and capable Alabama work injury lawyer these issues can be resolved in advantageous ways to the injured workers. Selecting your Alabama job accident attorney carefully to handle your third-party claim is therefore important.

In serious injury cases, third-party monetary recoveries are often greater than the benefits an injured worker receives under the workers' compensation system. In a third-party lawsuit, an injured worker may be entitled to recover past and future medical expenses, loss of earnings, loss of future earning capacity, property damage, permanent scarring or disfigurement, and compensation for physical pain and mental suffering. Compensation for many of these elements or damages are not allowed by Alabama’s workers' compensation Act.

If you are injured at work, you should notify your employer of the injury as soon as possible. You should report the injury in writing and keep a copy of the report for your records. In most instances, the employer has the right to select the physician from whom initial medical treatment shall be provided. It is important to immediately report the work accident to your employer and ask your employer to provide medical treatment. Immediately reporting the injury and filing a claim quickly helps ensure that your benefits will start promptly and will also help to avoid claims by the employer that they did not know you suffered a work accident or that the injury you complain about was suffered at home or away from work. As with all injury claims, there are time limitations and filing requirements which need to be met if a worker is to pursue his or her claim rights.

Those seeking workers compensation claims believe that they can’t afford to fight for what is right because the other side will have deep pockets and can quickly outspend them. But, you don’t need a large bank account. Just an experienced attorney in your corner to fight for you. In most cases we can represent you on a “contingency” basis, which means you’ll only pay a legal fee if we make a recovery for you. If we don’t get results in your favor (through a cash settlement or a jury verdict) you don’t owe us a fee for our services.

At John Ronald Spencer, P.C., there is never a charge to meet with you. We’ll determine whether you have legal rights that must be protected. The initial consultation is always free. You have nothing to lose if you make the call. But, you may lose all of your legal rights if you do nothing. Call (251) 445-0590 today to schedule an appointment with an experienced trial attorney.