Virginia employers are legally required to provide workers’ compensation benefits which function as a contingency insurance plan to address compensating a worker who is severely injured while on the job. Often workers find themselves at a disadvantage trying to prove their need for workers’ compensation when pitted against an employer’s legal heavyweights who want to prove that the worker’s injury was not sustained during the course of employment but may be a pre-existing injury or medical condition not covered by workers compensation.
The firm of Carter Craig has years of experience defending Virginia workers’ rights and has borne witness to cases where workers suffered work-related injuries so grave that they were rendered disabled for life. Partial or complete disability may diminish or completely nullify the worker’s ability to gain employment. The loss of the ability to earn a wage due to disability brings serious financial problems to most workers. However, to address these financial hardships, the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission has initiated various programs for workers to receive additional benefits to compensate for the loss of income due to disability.
Injured workers seeking such compensation often find it beneficial to consult a law firm that has experience in this area of law and can help with the process for filing a benefits claim under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act. The Act offers an injured worker the opportunity to receive many benefits, including additional lifelong help with medical expenses. An attorney familiar with the Act can also help a disabled worker obtain wage replacement benefits if partial or total disability hinders the worker’s ability to earn his or her previous level of salary or even find another job.
Wage replacement benefits may also be obtained for the worker’s family if the worker dies as a result of the workplace injury. It must be noted, however, that eligibility for benefits or the amount of benefits received must be assessed by the WCC first and this determination most often depends on proper filing of the required documentation.