Workers' Compensation

Most Louisiana employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, which is meant to provide coverage for lost wages, medical care and disability benefits when a covered employee is injured on the job.

In exchange for providing such coverage, most employers are protected from personal injury lawsuits by covered employees when a work accident occurs. In a perfect world, such claims might be handled without a workers' compensation attorney. However, many of the disadvantages that harm injury victims and families when seeking fair treatment from an at-fault insurance carrier remain when attempting to get fair treatment through a workers’ compensation claim.

In an increasing number of cases, employees are inappropriately categorized as independent contractors, or are otherwise left unprotected by workers’ compensation insurance coverage. In many of these cases, a personal injury lawsuit should be pursued against an employer and other liable parties.

At Brandt & Sherman, we believe anyone dealing with a serious injury deserves immediate access to an experienced workers' compensation attorney in Lafayette. Without the help of an experienced law firm, workers and their families are too often left uncompensated for significant impairment, and may have no legal recourse to recover damages should future medical complications or disabilities result from a work injury.

Common injury accidents that result in a workers’ compensation claim include:

• Falls
• Struck by object
• Machinery accidents
• Electrocution
• Chemical injuries
• Repetitive stress injuries
• Occupational diseases

Work Injury Claims

At-fault insurance companies focus on reducing costs at the expense of the rights of injury victims and their families. Workers’ compensation insurers are no different. Treatment denials are commonplace, as are arguments that your injuries are the result of a pre-existing condition or are otherwise unrelated to a work accident.

Additionally, many of the benefits available in a personal injury lawsuit, including non-economic damages for things like pain and suffering, reduced quality of life, and scarring and disfigurement, often are not available through a workers’ compensation claim. At Brandt & Sherman, we believe everyone dealing with a work injury deserves access to experienced legal help. That’s why we offer free and confidential consultations to discuss your rights and accept clients on a contingency-fee basis. This means we are paid based on a portion of a financial recovery we are able to make on your behalf. There are no upfront costs or fees.

The job of your Lafayette work injury law firm is to:

• Investigate: Determining all of the facts and circumstances of your accident, as well as all of the current and likely future medical consequences, is essential to building a comprehensive damage claim capable of paying you all of the damages to which you are entitled.
• Determine liability: While in many cases your employer is protected from a personal injury lawsuit, that is not true for other parties determined to be liable, including maintenance contractors, property owners, machine manufacturers and any other entity other than your employer who is found at fault. When such third-party liability claims are pursued, substantial additional compensation is possible.
• Damages: Determining all of the damages to which you are entitled, including the cost of rehabilitation, homecare, medically related travel expenses, and the likelihood of future medical complications or disability, is essential to protecting the long-term financial wellbeing of you and your family.

The truth of the matter is that unrepresented workers are at the mercy of a system run by employers and their insurance companies. Without the experienced legal help of a work injury attorney in Lafayette, injured workers and their families are too often revictimized by a system focused on dollars and not the welfare of patients and families.

The experienced Lafayette personal injury lawyers and wrongful death attorneys at Brandt & Sherman represent clients and families throughout the Acadiana region, including the parishes of Lafayette, Saint Martin, Acadia, Iberia, St. Landry, St Mary and Vermilion, and the communities of Abbeville, Carencro, New Iberia, Crowley, Opelousas, Eunice, Jennings, Baton Rouge, Baker, Merrydale, Zachary, Scott, Broussard, Milton, Morgan City, Shenandoah, Denham Springs, Lake Charles, Youngsville and Thibodaux.

Contact the Lafayette Workers' Compensation lawyers at Brandt & Sherman today for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights. Call (337) 800-4000.