Florida Workers' Compensation Lawyer

If you were injured in a workplace accident, we recommend calling us at Gerson & Schwartz P.A. to speak with an experienced Florida workers’ compensation lawyer. Our team has been helping accident and injury victims for over 48 years. We have worked on cases involving all types of work-related accidents and injuries. When you come to us for help, we will thoroughly investigate the accident, review your workers’ compensation coverage, and pursue all possible benefits on your behalf. We also will review whether someone from outside of your employee caused your injuries, giving you a third-party liability claim against that at-fault individual.

To learn more about your rights and options at a workplace accident, including whether you have the right to pursue workers’ compensation benefits, contact us online or call (877) 475-2905 to schedule a free consultation.

Do not hesitate to call us if you suffered a serious injury in a or by:

• Construction accident
• Scaffolding and ladder accident
• Transportation accident
• Vehicle back up accident
• Fire or explosion
• Machinery or heavy equipment accident
• Machine entanglement
• Pinned between objects and/or vehicle accident
• Slip and fall/trip and fall accident
• Fall from a height
• Struck by falling object accident
• Manual work accident
• Exposure to toxic, hazardous, or harmful substances
• Electrocution accident
• Violent act

Florida law requires most employers to carry workers’ comp insurance. If your employer is in any industry other than construction, and has four or more employees, they must carry workers’ compensation coverage. The employees can be full or part time, but certain corporate officers do not count as employees.

In the construction industry, any business with at least one employee is required to carry workers’ compensation insurance.

All local and state governments are required to carry workers’ comp.

Also, if your employer is a farmer and has more than five regular employees and/or 12 or more seasonal workers lasting 30 days or more, then that farmer must carry workers’ comp too.

If you are unsure of whether your employer carried workers’ compensation insurance, or your employer does not have coverage when they should, call our Florida workers’ compensation lawyers right away.

Not all worker injuries are covered by workers’ comp insurance. To qualify for benefits, at least 50% of the injury must have been sustained on the job. In most cases, the injury will have occurred in a workplace accident. You also may be covered when you are diagnosed with a medical condition that arose due to your work conditions or duties.

Workers’ compensation insurance will not cover injuries that were:

• Self-inflicted;
• Caused due to drug or alcohol intoxication;
• Fraudulently inflicted to obtain workers’ comp benefits;
• Sustained when you refused to use available safety equipment or follow the safety rules; or
• Sustained outside of work.

Our workers’ compensation attorneys in Florida are here to help if your employer is disputing your workers’ comp claim.

There are three major types of benefits under Florida workers’ compensation insurance: medical benefits, lost wages and other monetary compensation, and death benefits.

If your injury is covered by workers’ comp, then insurance will pay for all of your reasonable and necessary medical expenses.

You can receive compensation when you suffer from temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, or permanent total disability. For temporary total disability, you can receive 66 2/3% of your regular wages until you can return to work or for up to 104 weeks. For temporary partial disability, when you have been released by your physician for restricted duty at work, but you are unable to earn 80% of your normal wages, you can receive additional benefits for up to 104 weeks. If your injuries are so severe you cannot work again, you can receive permanent total disability payments or a lump sum.

Also, if you recover to the maximum extent possible, but you have physical limitations and cannot earn as much as you did before, then you will obtain an impairment rating and receive benefits based on this rating.

Whenever you are eligible to receive compensation benefits, you should work with a Florida workers’ compensation lawyer to ensure you are receiving the amount you are entitled to.

If your loved one passed away and their death was covered by workers’ compensation insurance, you can receive funeral expenses up to $7,5000, compensation for dependents, and educational benefits for a surviving spouse.

One of the most common questions we get asked after a work-related accident is whether the injury victim can sue their employer. The answer is usually no. If you are covered by workers’ compensation, then workers’ comp benefits are your sole remedy, even if your employer or a coworker was negligent.

However, if your employer is required by law to carry workers’ comp coverage and does not, you may have the right to file a personal liability lawsuit against them.

Also, you may have a third-party liability claim against the person who caused your accident and injury if that person is not employed by the same business. If someone from outside of the business caused you harm, talk with us right away about pursuing compensation through a personal injury lawsuit in addition to a workers’ comp claim.

If you are hurt at work or because of your work, you should report your injury or illness to your employer right away, but at least within 30 days. Your employer should then report your injury to the insurance carrier. At this point, you should talk with a Florida workers’ compensation lawyer at Gerson & Schwartz P.A. about your rights and options. Call us at (305) 371-6000.