How To Win Your Workers’ Compensation Trial, Before It Begins?

Despite being a federally guaranteed right, more than 40 percent of workers’ compensation cases are disputed and eventually rejected. While some of the disputes are genuine, most of them are used to dissuade you (the injured worker) from pursuing your dues. And, often, that’s what happens. Workers are eventually faced with two options: either give up or rely upon a jury’s uncertainty.

Don’t worry because I can help you, in a practical sense, win the trial before it starts. Wondering how? By preparing you for a pre-trial mediation. However, before we proceed, keep in mind that for simplicity, I will be considering a case of PA workers’ comp mediation.

What are Pre-Trial Mediations

Workers’ compensation, as a law, was designed to secure the state from unnecessary negligence claims. As such, before you move on to your trial, the workers’ compensation judge will order you and the insurance provider to participate in pre-trial mediation.

In PA, workers’ comp mediations are mandatorily presided over by a third party that may be someone from the state’s workers’ compensation department, an experienced lawyer, or a workers’ compensation judge. The mediator's only purpose is to observe the settlement proceedings as an agent of the court.

Winning Stratagems

The basic concept behind winning a settlement is to show the insurance company, through evidentiary material, that you will have the jury’s favor

Timely Reports

The first hurdle that you’ll come across in the settlement will be to prove that you didn’t falsify the time of the injury. The best way to fight here is to make is to report the incident by email. The email will function as proof of the time of injury and that you reported it on time.

Vocational Assessments

Vocational assessments are designed to see if you can find suitable work despite your injuries. While usually used by employers to reduce the compensation payouts, in PA workers’ comp mediations, vocational assessments can be a blessing in disguise. So, get a vocational assessment of yourself to show that if you win the trial – the insurance provider will have to pay all the lost wages.

Medical Report

Often workplace injuries happen outside of the scope of doing the company-assigned work. And if your case involves such a situation, then be sure that the insurance company will use it to scare you into submission. Thankfully, workers’ compensation covers injuries that happen in proximity to work. So, my suggestion against such underhanded tactics would be to sit back and just smile.

Final Recommendation

Although helpful to your settlement, these strategies are not a substitute for proper legal aid; in fact, they are to go in conjunction with it. Now, I understand that you are worried about being stuck with both the medical bills and the legal costs if you do not win. But the thing is, you do not have to pay if you lose as there are many workers’ compensation lawyers out there who will offer you their services on a contingency basis. So, in conclusion, always get a lawyer for your settlement.