270.781.6500

Personal Practices

Workers’ Comp

Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Attorneys

Thousands of workers in Kentucky are injured while performing their job duties every year. Injuries can range from sprains, strains, hernias, repetitive stress injuries, disc herniations or even death. Most frequent injuries include injuries to the neck, back, shoulders and knees.

In Kentucky, employers with one or more employees are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance that compensates employees for these injuries; including medical benefits and benefits for lost time. These policies should help workers.

But it’s not as simple as asking for what you believe you are owed and receiving a check. Workers’ compensation insurance and the laws that govern it are ever-changing and can make it difficult to know how to apply, what to expect and what to do.

We can help.

Experienced Attorneys Can Assist You

We have a highly experienced legal staff who are accustomed to handling workers’ compensation issues. Our attorneys understand how workers’ compensation cases are handled, and know what companies should do for employees. We can guide you through the system, handle your application and any resulting litigation with the care and concern that you and your family deserve.

Workers’ compensation injuries occur in a wide variety of settings such as construction sites, manufacturing facilities and other physically demanding or repetitive jobs. Workers may be required to lift heavy objects, climb ladders, use sharp tools or perform many other dangerous activities that can be physically damaging. Even experienced workers who understand the risks and are careful can be injured on the job, sometimes through no fault of their own. If you are traveling for your employer, and involved in a motor vehicle accident, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

In some cases, employers have not provided a safe work environment or basic safety gear, including proper harnesses, supports, hard hats, gloves or safety goggles. Tripping hazards can mean that workers fall and are injured.

You should be provided a safe place to work, and if you are injured, your case should be treated seriously. If you are injured on the job and your employer advises you not to file a claim, you should contact an attorney. We are here to help in each step of your claim.

Regularly Handle Workers’ Comp Cases

We have experience helping injured workers, and will provide a free consultation for an injured worker, or in the case of a workplace death, we can examine the potential case for the family.

We are accustomed to walking with our clients as we collect reports, medical evidence, insurance policies, and many other items that are needed to evaluate your case.

Kentucky Work Accident Lawyers
Unfortunately, accidents can happen at work. The results of these accidents can be injuries that are relatively minor, including bruises or cuts, or worse, including broken bones, strains, dislocated joints, burns, dismemberment or even death. Your employer has an obligation to care for you in your workplace, including providing what you need to recover from the trauma of an accident.

In the case of a death in the workplace, the family of the employee may be eligible for compensation to help recover from the loss of income the family member provided.

Workers’ Compensation insurance should help injured workers following a work accident.

If you are injured on the job, you should always report the incident to your immediate supervisor or employer. The employer should have workers’ compensation insurance that should cover your medical bills. You should never pay out of pocket or a co-payment for an office visit for treatment of the work-related injury. If this occurs, you are entitled to a reimbursement. The workers’ compensation insurance should also reimburse the mileage you travel round trip at the current rate set by Kentucky statute. If the treating physician places you off from work for more than seven work days, the workers’ compensation benefits should pay 66 2/3 percent of lost wages, based upon your average weekly rate.

Work injuries are common
A work injury is a relatively common occurrence, with 3.8 million injuries on the job in 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. About 80 percent of those were in private workplaces, while the rest were in state and local government jobs. The national average rate of job injuries in 2015 was 3.0 workers injured for every 100 workers on the job in the private sector. Kentucky’s job injury rate is higher, with an average of 3.5 workers injured for every 100 on the job in the private sector.

The industries experiencing the highest rate of injury on the job are manufacturing, construction, agriculture, warehousing and retail. Each of those work places requires physical labor and operating machinery that can fail. Human mistakes, too, take their toll. Workers who have put in long hours may find it hard to make judgement calls, especially as their shift goes on.

Types of work injuries
A worker can be injured in many ways. This can include tripping, especially over objects carelessly left in pathways, or slipping and falling in a spill that’s not marked or properly cleaned up. One worker may accidentally hit another with a hard object, such as a large piece of wood on a construction site, or may accidentally hit someone with a fork lift, vehicle or side-loader.

Injuries can come from workers attempting to lift something that’s entirely too heavy or poorly positioned, or from being forced to hurry a job that needs more time.

Injuries can take the form of a back strain, pull or fracture, or damage to the neck, knee or shoulder. Anyone who is injured at work should seek proper medical care as quickly as possible. In most cases, an employer will have workers’ compensation insurance that will help workers who need medical assistance and compensation for lost work time.

Our experienced workers’ comp attorneys can help you
Workers’ compensation can be confusing. We can assist you in handling the paperwork and helping you navigate your claim for your work related injury.

Kentucky Workplace Death Lawyers

No one should die at work. Yet, it happens every day in the United States.

A staggering 4,836 workers were killed on the job in 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s 3.4 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. On average, that’s more than 93 a week or more than 13 deaths every day.

While no one should die at work, it is a real possibility at physically demanding jobs, particularly construction and manufacturing, or anything in which large equipment is regularly part of the job. Safety equipment, such as harnesses, helmets and goggles, are designed to protect workers on the job, but may not be adequate.

Though no amount of compensation can replace a loved one who has died, workers’ compensation is in place to help families cope with the loss of income of a parent or child who has died on the job.

Help with your workers’ compensation case

Most employers are required to have workers’ compensation insurance. If your loved one died at work, you should ask if their estate is due any compensation from workers’ comp. These funds can help your family pay for the funeral, medical bills, or for expenses the deceased worker had.

Navigating the world of workers’ comp isn’t easy. We can review your case for free, and help you get the workers’ comp benefits that your family deserves. Let us help you.

Kentucky Workers’ Compensation LawyersFor most factory workers, doing the same thing repeatedly all day long is simply a job requirement. Most manufacturing plants, even the most sophisticated, modernized plants of today, need someone standing in place performing a similar task day in and day out.

These repetitive duties can cause a repetitive stress injury, or, as some call it, a repetitive strain injury. These injuries are brought on by work, and need to be cared for by qualified physicians. Workers’ compensation insurance should help pay for treatment for your injuries, which can range from mild tingling to crippling pain.

Repetitive movement causes injuriesOne of the most common repetitive strain or repetitive stress injuries is carpal tunnel syndrome. This is caused by a pinched nerve in the wrist, which causes numbness and tingling in the hand. This injury isn’t just for factory workers. Even employees who spend the majority of their time at a desk can get a form of carpal tunnel syndrome, which can also hit manufacturing workers. Carpal tunnel can be relatively mild, and alleviated with a brace, or much more severe, calling for surgery and recovery time.

Repetitive stress injuries can also involve the ulnar nerve, which runs down the arm. The ulnar nerve can become entrapped, which means it is compressed or irritated. The ulnar nerve is one of the three main nerves in the arm, traveling from your neck to your hand. Repetitive stress injuries can affect this nerve and cause lasting issues.

In any case, workers’ compensation coverage should pay for care needed for recovery and for the time away from work that is needed to recover.

Repetitive stress injuries can also take more severe forms, which can involve neck or back pain, knee pain or other joint pain. If carrying heavy objects is part of your work, such as in a warehouse or on a construction site, a back brace is an important tool to help prevent injury. If your back is injured, your workers’ compensation insurance should pay for that brace or anything else that is needed.

Other joints may be affected

Knees and hips often take the brunt of a long day on your feet. If you bend over often, crouch down or perform other strenuous activities, you can expect that both joints may be sore and stiff after long days, and may suffer greater damage in time.

We see these cases often. Injury in repetitive strain cases occurs day by day, little by little, making it sometimes hard to diagnose. But don’t dismiss the toll a physically demanding job can take on your body.

Your first step in any workers’ compensation case is to attempt to file a claim with your company’s workers’ comp insurance company. They can help you get the help you need. If you don’t receive a timely response or your claim is denied, you may need the assistance of an experienced attorney.

Our team is ready and willing to help you with your workers’ compensation case.

Related Attorneys

Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Thousands of workers in Kentucky are injured while performing their job duties every year. Injuries can range from sprains, strains, hernias, repetitive stress injuries, disc herniations or even death. Most frequent injuries include injuries to the neck, back, shoulders and knees. In Kentucky, employers with one or more employees are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance that compensates employees for these injuries; including medical benefits and benefits for lost time. These policies should help workers. But it’s not as simple as asking for what you believe you are owed and receiving a check. Workers’ compensation insurance and the laws that govern it are ever-changing and can make it difficult to know how to apply, what to expect and what to do. We can help. Experienced Attorneys Can Assist You We have a highly experienced legal staff who are accustomed to handling workers’ compensation issues. Our attorneys understand how workers’ compensation cases are handled, and know what companies should do for employees. We can guide you through the system, handle your application and any resulting litigation with the care and concern that you and your family deserve. Workers’ compensation injuries occur in a wide variety of settings such as construction sites, manufacturing facilities and other physically demanding or repetitive jobs. Workers may be required to lift heavy objects, climb ladders, use sharp tools or perform many other dangerous activities that can be physically damaging. Even experienced workers who understand the risks and are careful can be injured on the job, sometimes through no fault of their own. If you are traveling for your employer, and involved in a motor vehicle accident, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. In some cases, employers have not provided a safe work environment or basic safety gear, including proper harnesses, supports, hard hats, gloves or safety goggles. Tripping hazards can mean that workers fall and are injured. You should be provided a safe place to work, and if you are injured, your case should be treated seriously. If you are injured on the job and your employer advises you not to file a claim, you should contact an attorney. We are here to help in each step of your claim. Regularly Handle Workers’ Comp Cases We have experience helping injured workers, and will provide a free consultation for an injured worker, or in the case of a workplace death, we can examine the potential case for the family. We are accustomed to walking with our clients as we collect reports, medical evidence, insurance policies, and many other items that are needed to evaluate your case.