Jay Trucks and Associates Legal Blog

Before the workers' compensation system was put into place, if an employee was injured on the job, the only option open to them to recover medical costs and lost wages was to hire an attorney and bring a lawsuit against their employer or other responsible party. Though it was possible for an employee to recover some of their losses, it often took a long time, and in the process they frequently lost their homes and health while they were waiting to receive compensation for their injuries.

History of the Workers Comp System
Injured employees began to take a toll on the social systems of the United States and it was proposed that some type of employee compensation laws be enacted to protect workers from loss. As a result, each state enacted their own workers' compensation laws to cover the losses of employees due to on the job injuries. Michigan's law was first passed in 1912 & has been amended many times since then to bring it up to date with current conditions.

The Federal Government has no control over each state's workers' compensation Laws as they are governed by the legislation enacted in each state. This is the reason that Pennsylvania workers' compensation laws vary from other states laws, but generally they follow the same basic guidelines for covering the expenses and loss of an injured or ill employee.

In most cases if an employee is injured on the job, fault is an irrelevant issue when it comes to workers' compensation covering the expenses of that employee, though there have been a few cases where issues such as willful neglect on the part of the employee, has caused problems for the employee getting their compensation. There are some rules that govern workers'
compensation benefits, such as getting immediate first aid and medical treatment at the time of injury, and continuing to follow doctor's orders until fully recovered, etc.

Consult an Attorney
If you have been injured in the process of performing your job, or injured following a construction accident, you are likely eligible to receive workers' compensation benefits. To find out more you can contact a Michigan personal injury attorney who specializes in workers' compensation cases.

In personal injury cases the insurance company will frequently request an IME calling it an Independent Medical Exam. Nothing could be further from the truth, they are in fact Insurance Medical Exams conducted by a doctor chosen by the insurance company because the results of the exam are known in advance.

These examiners perform 100's of exams per year for substantial fees. They are not Dr's in the traditional sense dedicated to healing & the alleviation of suffering.

Over the years these Dr's become skillful in manipulating injured victims for the desired exam results & testimony detrimental to the injured persons claim.

Do not be fooled into thinking these examiners will be helpful to you. Do be accurate & complete in giving information or it could be detrimental to your claim. Take notes, time the exam, record or have a witness to the exam if possible.

Seeing your own Dr. close to the exam is also helpful.

If you have questions please contact Jay Trucks & Associates, PC at 1-800-762-8623.