Whether you are trying to expedite your own workers’ compensation claim or trying to process the same for your client as their appointed lawyer, the rules remain unchanged. Today, we are going to go over a few quick essentials of expediting a workers’ compensation claim, some of which might be quite helpful for both the claimants and their lawyers.
Hire an External Medical Records Retrieval Agency
The biggest law firms in the US often have their own records-retrieval departments and connections, but most law firms do not. Even if a small to medium sized law firm decided to invest in building their own in-house record retrieval department, it would mostly be a misdirected effort. The expense in time, manpower and money would be too great for it to be considered as a profitable and efficient investment.
Instead, let a record retrieval expert do their job, and redirect your funds, time and manpower towards the legal aspects of your cases. To know more about how and why experienced medical records retrieval companies offer a much more resource-effective alternative to in-house retrieval departments, head on over to americanretrieval.com.
Assist Your Clients in Depositions
A deposition would be when your client, witnesses, and neutral medical professionals are called in for a recorded session of questioning. This is when the insurance lawyers will try to shred your client’s claim and discard it as being defunct. So, it is imperative that you both prepare and represent your client at this point, since very few unprepared individuals can withstand the shrewd legal questioning sessions without being tricked into saying something that they should not. In case you are fairly new to the job yourself, consult a senior for advice regarding what to expect at such a deposition.
Gather Evidence Beyond Medical Records
Now, the advantage of working as workers’ compensation lawyer is that, in most cases, the employer’s lawyers will also work to help expediate the claim. There are generally no conflicts of interest here if the claim is legitimate. It’s the insurance lawyers that you need to worry about, and rest assured that insurance companies have the most scrutinizing legal professionals under their employment/contract.
This means that whether it is a lawsuit against an employer who did not bother to get workers’ compensation insurance, or just an attempt to hasten the entire processing time, the more evidence you have to support your case, the better. Some examples include:
- Testimonies and statements from neutral physicians, diagnostic experts, caregivers, etc.
- Testimonies and statements form family members, co-workers, friends and others related closely to the injured worker.
As a lawyer, you might be quite familiar with most of what we discussed, but unless you have actually faced the complexities of interpreting medical records and gone through the hoops necessary to retrieve the necessary medical records, it’s going to be an unpleasant surprise! However, now that you know a bit more regarding what to expect, it could be a less rough learning experience than it would have been otherwise.
