10 Important Factors in a Virginia Workers Compensation Settlement

1.    An Award Gives You Lifetime Medical Coverage for your Injury

If you have a Virginia Workers' Compensation award, you know you have a life time medical award and thus the insurance company will have to pay your medical expenses for the rest of your life.

2.    500 weeks of Compensation
If you have an ongoing award of compensation, the insurance company may be looking at paying you 500 weeks of compensation under Virginia Law.

3.    Loss of a member or loss of use of a member
If your injury is to your eye, arm, finger, toe, hand, arm, foot, or leg, you can usually expect to be paid for any permanent damage to that part of your body.

4.    Lifetime Compensation
If your injury is very serious and leaves you totally disabled, then you may have a claim of compensation that could go longer than 500 weeks potentially for the rest of your life. But this can require proof of brain damage or the loss of two extremities.

5. Return to work may mean a Small or No Settlement
If you have returned to work and you are not incurring any medical expenses and your injury has not given you any permanent work restrictions, then your claim may have little or no value for settlement purposes

6. Possibility of a Future Medical Operation
If you face an expensive operation in the future such as a knee replacement, you would need to consider this in negotiating any settlement. This is especially the case if you are surrending your medical care in the settlement.

7.    Your Need for Future Medical Coverage
Many insurance companies in Virginia will not settle a workers' compensation case and allow you to keep lifetime medical coverage. If you do not have an alternative way to pay medical expenses, this can prevent a settlement.

8. The Impact of Social Security & Medicare
If you are on Social Security Disability or are applying for it, then you need to know the impact a workers' compensation settlement will have on your Social Security benefits and Medicare.

9. A Personal Injury Case
If you have a third party case arising out of the same accident as your workers' compensation accident the workers' compensation carrier may have a lien on your workers' compensation case.

10.    Summary

IN SUMMARY, there are many factors involved in settling a workers' compensation case; therefore, the best advice is to contact an experienced workers' compensation attorney to evaluate any settlement before it is signed. Please review my article: How to Choose the Best Virginia Workers Compensation Attorney or Lawyer. Virginia Workers' Compensation Law is a specialty field. You would not choose a general practitioner for brain surgery so why would you choose a general practitioner for your workers compensation claim? You just cannot assume every attorney knows the ins and outs of Workers' Compensation Law. If you want a free consultation on your Virginia Workers' Compensation Case: call now at 804-358-4766 or 1-800-256-8862 or email me at jervalaw@aol.com This may be considered AN ADVERTISEMENT or Advertising Material under the Rules of Professional Conduct governing lawyers in Virginia. This note is designed for general information only.

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