If you were hurt while working and are wondering when is the right time to enlist the help of a lawyer, Attorney Shannon Warf Wilson is a Board-Certified workers’ comp attorney, and she is here to help. Read the following transcript to learn when you should call a workers’ comp lawyer in North Carolina to help you get the money you need to recover.

Attorney Shannon Warf Wilson:
No. I would say the majority of workers’ comp claims end in a settlement. That’s going to be the choice of the client though. If you have an injury and you get a disability rating, and you’ve got restrictions, and you’re back to work, and you’re happy with your job, then the settlement, if you will, is just different. The settlement may be, in that case, paying out your disability rating. On the flip side, if you are not able to go back to that job, or the job’s not available for you, or your restrictions preclude you from going back to work, then that settlement may include waiver of future medical and closing out your claim altogether.

Sometimes a settlement is just payment of the disability rating. Sometimes it’s a bigger settlement, because either your case is more involved, or the settlement includes closing out your claim altogether.

Speaker 2:
It sounds like there could be a lot of complicating factors to the negotiations of what goes into a settlement, and that’s why it might be helpful to have a lawyer involved in your case.

Attorney Shannon Warf Wilson:
Absolutely. We get a lot of calls where they’ve handled their claim on their own, and now the adjuster has said, “I want to pay you X to close out your claim.” And then they call and say, “Well, do you think that’s a good settlement?” That’s hard, at that point, because I haven’t reviewed your medical records, I don’t know your history, that sort of thing. That’s another reason it’s easier to get involved when you need to get involved earlier, so we can posture the claim. If the client’s wanting a global settlement, then that’s the route that we’re taking. Or if the client’s wanting to continue working there, and just be paid the rating, and more comfortable leaving the medical open, then we go that way.

Speaker 2:
That makes a lot of sense. It makes a lot of sense that the earlier you meet the client, the earlier you understand what the client is after, the easier it is for you to push the claim in the direction that will get the client the outcome they’re hoping for.

Attorney Shannon Warf Wilson:
Exactly, exactly.

If you were hurt while working in Winston-Salem or anywhere in North Carolina, contact our experienced workers’ comp attorneys today for the help you need in seeking the compensation you deserve.