You might be a little nervous before your first
meeting with the workers compensation lawyer. This isn’t surprising
given the kind of pain, suffering and trauma you may have gone
through since your injury. Take a deep breath and get over all the
fear and apprehensions you have in your mind. A workers’
compensation attorney is your friend and guide in this fight and
shall offer suggestions and legal advice to ensure your rights and
financial stability is protected. Here’s how you can prepare for
the meeting.
# 1 Take Someone Along
Narrating a traumatic experience weeks or months after the incident is never easy. If you have been cold shouldered by your employer and have had to knock several doors for treatment and rehabilitation it becomes even tougher. You may have emotional breakdowns while talking to your attorney. Taking your partner, friend of colleague is always advisable as this adds to your mental strength. Make sure you take someone who is aware of all the events that have taken place so far and can answer questions that your lawyer might have and also correct you when you are missing out on important details.
Narrating a traumatic experience weeks or months after the incident is never easy. If you have been cold shouldered by your employer and have had to knock several doors for treatment and rehabilitation it becomes even tougher. You may have emotional breakdowns while talking to your attorney. Taking your partner, friend of colleague is always advisable as this adds to your mental strength. Make sure you take someone who is aware of all the events that have taken place so far and can answer questions that your lawyer might have and also correct you when you are missing out on important details.
#2 Prepare Chronology of the Events
As we have stated above, given the mental state you are in, it is quite possible that you’d forget mentioning details of how you have dealt with your injury and its aftermath. This is where it is advisable that you write down the chronology of the events in a piece of paper starting from how you got injured to how you were taken to a medical care provider. There are several things that your Oakland workers’ compensation lawyer would like to know from you such as - When did you inform about the injury to your employer? When did your employer provide you with the DWC-1 form? Did they ask you to resume work in a different role? While you don’t need to handover this paper to the lawyer it ensures that all the relevant details relating to your claim are made known to them.
As we have stated above, given the mental state you are in, it is quite possible that you’d forget mentioning details of how you have dealt with your injury and its aftermath. This is where it is advisable that you write down the chronology of the events in a piece of paper starting from how you got injured to how you were taken to a medical care provider. There are several things that your Oakland workers’ compensation lawyer would like to know from you such as - When did you inform about the injury to your employer? When did your employer provide you with the DWC-1 form? Did they ask you to resume work in a different role? While you don’t need to handover this paper to the lawyer it ensures that all the relevant details relating to your claim are made known to them.
#3 Get Your Documentation In Order
Any piece of document that you have relating to your injury, the treatment that you have undergone and all the correspondence you have had with your employer or the insurer should be presented during the consultation. A lawyer would need to review the documentary evidence before they are willing to take up your case. They should be convinced that the case is worth fighting and all that you state during the conversation is real and you have documentary evidence to prove that. Here are some of the documents that you should present to your lawyer -
Any piece of document that you have relating to your injury, the treatment that you have undergone and all the correspondence you have had with your employer or the insurer should be presented during the consultation. A lawyer would need to review the documentary evidence before they are willing to take up your case. They should be convinced that the case is worth fighting and all that you state during the conversation is real and you have documentary evidence to prove that. Here are some of the documents that you should present to your lawyer -
-
All relevant medical records and reports you have
-
List of all the medical care providers you have referred to
-
Copies of all the correspondence you have had with your employer and insurance company
-
DWC-1 (First Report of Injury) Form if you have filled one
#4 Questions You Have For the Lawyer
You shouldn’t be overwhelmed meeting your attorney irrespective of their status and reputation. As a client you do have the right to know how the attorney would approach the case and what kind of outcome should you expect at the end. This calls for asking the right questions to your attorney. Here are some of the things that you need to ask your Oakland workers compensation lawyer before entrusting them with fighting for your claim –
You shouldn’t be overwhelmed meeting your attorney irrespective of their status and reputation. As a client you do have the right to know how the attorney would approach the case and what kind of outcome should you expect at the end. This calls for asking the right questions to your attorney. Here are some of the things that you need to ask your Oakland workers compensation lawyer before entrusting them with fighting for your claim –
-
What kind of benefits should I expect from the case?
-
What would be the timeframe for the claims to be settled?
-
How much would you charge me?
-
Do I have to pay you upfront?
To sum up, fighting a workers’ compensation
claim is always a hard battle and it is important you hire the best
attorney to fight your case. The above mentioned approach would
ensure you are able to choose the right Oakland workers compensation
lawyer and get started with your fight in the right manner.
Summary – In
this write-up we take a look at some of the things you need to
prepare when you are meeting your Oakland workers compensation lawyer
for the first time.
