St Louis Workers Compensation Lawyer

State law requires most St. Louis businesses to carry worker's compensation insurance. This insurance coverage is intended to protect employees if they suffer an injury at work. Workers' compensation laws require any St. Louis businesses with five or more employees to provide this insurance coverage. While there are some exceptions to this law, most workers have the right to pursue a workers' compensation claim if they sustain an injury or develop an illness while doing their job.

For more information on Missouri's Workers' Compensation laws, here are the compiled statutues.

If you need to report an injury at work, or if you have further questions about the Missouri legal process that involves a workers' compensation claim, our Workers' Compensation Lawyers in St. Louis can guide you through the process to ensure that everything is completed correctly.

What Are My St. Louis Workers Comp Benefits?

Burger Law in St. Louis helps injured workers recover their full benefits under Missouri’s Workers’ Compensation laws. Our workers compensation lawyers personally file claims, fight for medical care, ensure disability payments are timely made, file and try hardship hearings and work with your employer and insurance company to get the benefits to which you are entitled.

In addition to covering the costs of your medical treatment, St. Louis workers’ compensation provides additional benefits when the employee is partially or permanently disabled either temporarily or permanently, including:

• Medical care authorized and all expenses paid by your employer: Missouri law requires that injured workers receive compensation for any medical expenses incurred as a result of workplace injury. As explained above, employers generally have the right to choose the doctor that you will go see. However, the experienced St. Louis area workers’ compensation lawyers at Burger Law have been successful in the past with getting workers treatment by a physician of their choosing for some treatment. Though it can be a difficult case to make, if you want treatment by your own provider you need to get aggressive representation like that at Burger Law.
• Lost Wages: Receipt of payment for lost wages will depend on your doctor’s assessment of your ability to work. If you can’t return to work due to your injuries or need to take time off to recover from surgery, you should recover lost wages. If you can perform light work or modified work duties, you can only recover for the difference between your normal wages and the pay you receive for modified duty. Once a doctor approves you to return to work, you will not receive further payments for missed work.
• For temporary partial disability, a worker receives two-thirds (⅔) of the difference between their average earnings before the accident and the amount the worker can earn during the period of disability.
• For temporary total disability, a worker receives two-thirds (⅔) of their average weekly wage.
• Disability Benefits: Some injuries are so catastrophic that the worker is declared permanently disabled after reaching Maximum Medical Improvement. A permanent partial disability means that the worker can’t perform certain jobs or tasks but can work in some capacity. A worker who has suffered a permanent total disability is no longer able to work any job. Permanently disabled employees are entitled to additional benefits for the rest of their life.
• For permanent partial disability, your benefits will depend on a rating assigned by a doctor, which will correlate to how much the disability affects the injured body part. You will also receive a numerical value based on a schedule of losses. This formula will determine the benefit.
• For permanent total disability, the calculation is the same as a temporary total disability but will last for your lifetime.
• Survivor Benefits: If your loved one died in a workplace accident, the survivor (normally a spouse or child) should receive two-thirds of the victim’s average weekly wage from the immediately preceding year. The employer must also pay up to $5,000 in funeral expenses. The status of the survivor will determine how long workers’ compensation pays the benefit.

When injured at work, you should quickly get all of your benefits and return to work for minor injuries. Serious injuries can mean a big recovery with the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer. If your employer retaliates against you or does not provide you with the proper benefits, Burger Law will fight them in the workers’ compensation division or with a civil wrongful discharge claim. Many Missouri workers do not even know they are entitled to this lump sum disability payment. Our workers' compensation attorneys only take a 25% fee on the disability payment when we win your workers' compensation case.

How to Avoid Workplace Injuries in St. Louis

Whether you're standing on your feet for hours in a retail or restaurant job or you're regularly lifting heavy objects in a warehouse or construction job, there are a number of ways that the average employee can face serious injury at work. And although the United States has a number of labor laws that are supposed to resolve workplace safety issues, not all employers follow these regulations. Minor and major injuries -- and even tragedy -- can result when safety guidelines in the workplace aren't fully enacted.

However, workers themselves can learn how to avoid workplace injuries, and they also have other resources in case they are injured, such as personal injury attorneys. If you're looking for some guidance on how to avoid injuries in the workplace, check out these four helpful tips for avoiding workplace injuries:

1. Make sure you are clear on your job description.

   When you are first hired, your human resources department should let you know about your job duties. While these include your day to day tasks, they should also have information about the risks you may face on the job. This includes whether you will have to do any heavy lifting or how many hours per day you may be on your feet. If these guidelines are unclear, ask your boss.

2. Find out about reasonable accommodations you may be entitled to.

   If you are unable to meet some or all of the physical requirements of your job due to a health condition or disability, your employer may be able to provide you with reasonable accommodations. For example, this may include giving a cashier who has back problems a chair or stool rather than forcing that worker to stand. If you are pregnant and working in the United States, you are also protected under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which was passed in 1978.

3. Be aware of your working conditions at all times.

   Whether or not your employer has given you a safety briefing for your job, you should be able to recognize situations that may be unsafe. If you're ever unsure of something, you can ask your employer. For example, if you work in retail, then your store should have adequate safety procedures in place for events like Black Friday. Each year, Black Friday -- the big shopping day after Thanksgiving -- becomes more and more dangerous as crowds head out to malls and large retail stores. In fact, in 2015, there was one death and fifteen injuries, both of shoppers and workers. Make sure that you know how to avoid injuries in the workplace at all times, and ask your employer if something is unclear or could be dangerous.

4. Know what to do if you are injured.

   In the event that you are injured on the job, you may be entitled to compensation. First, however, you would need to file a claim for worker's compensation. Once you file your claim, your employer has 30 days to file a response to your claim; if no answer is filed, then the facts of the claim are deemed admitted. Be sure to speak with a workers' compensation attorney if you have any questions about this process.

Don't gamble on your safety in the workplace. If you see something that looks hazardous, bring it to your employer's attention -- before it's too late for you or someone else.

St. Louis Work Injury Cases

When you are injured on the job, you need an experienced St. Louis workers' compensation lawyer who is ready and willing to fight for you every step of the way, whether that is in your workers' compensation claim, a third-party personal injury or wrongful death claim or even going to trail to get you the compensation you need. The work injury attorneys of Burger Law in St. Louis will demand your recovery from any and all negligent parties. Learn more about the types of work injury cases we cover below.

St. Louis, Missouri Workers' Compensation Frequently Asked Questions

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St. Louis, Missouri Workers' Compensation Lawyer Videos

Burger Law's Missouri workers' compensation law firm based in St. Louis has a team of gifted litigators and trial lawyers with more than 70 years of combined experience practicing law and protecting the vulnerable and injured. We will fight to get you maximum compensation in any injury claim in Missouri, including the case types listed here. Click for more information.

St. Louis Area Hospitals

Other St. Louis Workers' Compensation Claim Resources

Our capable workers' comp attorneys in St. Louis and throughout Missouri work hard when a hard worker like you is hurt on the job. Your Burger Law workers' compensation lawyer in St. Louis has the reputation, resources, talent and knowledge needed to provide you with quality representation in your workers' compensation claim and make sure you are protected from illegal retaliation from your employer. You and your family both deserve a trustworthy and dedicated St. Louis workers' compensation lawyer with Burger Law who will work tirelessly to ensure you receive maximum compensation for your work injury damages. Our workers' comp and personal injury law firm offers a number of detailed, free resources to help you in your workers' compensation claim. Check out our videos, online answers to frequently asked questions, other online resources and free e-books or contact us now at (314) 500-HURT to speak to a qualified workers' compensation attorney about your case.