Workplace injuries can have disastrous consequences for workers and employers, alike. When you or someone you know is injured or become ill at your workplace or a work-related activity, regardless of whether the injury or illness occurred in connection with your job and/or regardless of whether the injury or illness was the result of an employer’s fault or negligence, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation.
Christensen & Jensen’s skilled and experienced workers compensation attorneys can assist injured workers in pursuing their claims in front of the Utah Labor Commission, as well as pursuing lawsuits against third-parties who may be responsible for their injuries. Each state has enacted specific laws to afford benefits to injured workers, while also providing certain protections for employers. Under those state specific laws, an employee is automatically entitled to receive certain benefits when she suffers an occupational disease or accidental personal injury arising out of and in the course of employment. Such benefits may include cash or wage-loss benefits, medical and career rehabilitation benefits, and in the case of accidental death of an employee, benefits to dependents. As noted, the negligence and fault of either the employer or the employee usually are immaterial.
Conversely, Christensen & Jensen’s workers’ compensation attorneys also assist public and private employers in defending against injured workers’ claims, as well as pursuing claims against tortious third parties. Workers’ compensation insurance is explicitly required under Utah law. Workers’ compensation insurance provides employers with legal counsel to ensure that the workers’ compensation laws are applied equally and fairly. Christensen & Jensen’s deep-rooted history of defending insured on behalf of major insurance clients lends itself perfectly to the workers’ compensation setting, and provides an advantage to Christensen & Jensen clients.
By understanding both sides of the workers’ compensation paradigm, Christensen & Jensen’s workers’ compensation attorneys possess the valuable insight to maximize the claims of injured workers, while reducing the financial exposure of employers.
In Utah, the workers’ compensation statute represents the exclusive remedy for injured workers against their employers. At the federal level, the Federal Employment Compensation Act, provides similar protections for federal employees and employers. Christensen & Jensen’s worker’s compensation attorneys are well versed in the specific requirements of both the Utah workers’ compensation statute and the federal workers’ compensation statute, and can provide beginning to end services as it relates to workers’ compensation for employees and/ or their employers.
Workers’ compensation services offered by Christensen & Jensen, include:
- Litigating workers’ compensation claims from start to finish – hearings, appeals, and medical fee or treatment disputes
- Monitoring medical treatment and coordinating return-to-work or determining when steps should be taken to help bring a workers’ compensation claim to an end
- Coordinating with the HR departments if grievance, termination, discrimination or unemployment issues arise
- Negotiating fines and penalties with Utah agencies if coverage issues arise
- Providing in-depth analysis of coverage amounts and related issues
- Auditing and improving in-house claims documentation and procedures
- Responding to emergency and hot-button issues
- Pursuing reimbursement, subrogation, or third party claims when appropriate