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St. Louis Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

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Unfortunately, it is not always easy for injured workers to obtain fair settlements. You may need assistance from an experienced St. Louis workers’ compensation lawyer at The Floyd Law Firm. Contact us today to learn more and schedule a free case consultation. 

If you have suffered an injury at work in St. Louis, Missouri, you are likely entitled to financial compensation. Missouri’s workers’ compensation system provides an opportunity for injured workers to recover financial benefits for their medical expenses, lost wages, disability, and more.

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“I’ve known Mark Floyd for years. He helped me get good doctors and a fair settlement for a shoulder injury I received on the job. And he helped my wife with some problems she got from a car accident. I work with several hundred other folks in a relatively dangerous industry, and whenever someone gets hurt, I always tell them to call The Floyd Law Firm. They’ve helped dozens of people I know get the medical treatment and compensation they deserve. The Floyd Law Firm believes in what they do. They believe in helping people.”

-Michael

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Were You Injured in a Workplace Accident?

The Floyd Law Firm is a trusted source of legal assistance and advocacy for injured workers in St. Louis and throughout Missouri. Workers have come to us for representation for over 50 years. We can help if you’ve been injured in workplace accidents such as:

Our St. Louis workers’ compensation lawyers can help if you suffered injuries in a catastrophic accident at work or were injured due to stress, overexertion, or repetitive motions. If the injury or illness occurred as a result of performing job-related tasks, you likely qualify for financial compensation.

How Does Workers’ Compensation Work in Missouri?

Workers’ compensation is available to most employees in Missouri who suffer injuries or illnesses from tasks related to their jobs. As long as the harm arises out of the scope and course of the individual’s employment, workers’ comp benefits can be granted to help the worker pay for related costs. These are no-fault benefits, meaning the worker does not have to prove that someone else’s negligence or fault contributed to the injury. In exchange, employers are immune from civil lawsuits filed by employees.

Do all Employers in Missouri Have Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

Missouri law requires all employers with five or more employees to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Employers with fewer than five employees are not required to carry this coverage but may elect to do so to protect against the possibility of a lawsuit by an injured employee. Because of the additional risks associated with the construction industry, construction companies must provide workers’ compensation insurance if they have one or more employees.

Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Before you file a workers’ compensation claim, it’s important to understand the benefits the program offers injured employees. In Missouri, workers’ compensation provides multiple benefits to compensate injured employees while also protecting employers from the ongoing threat of lawsuits.

Lost Wages:

A successful workers’ compensation claim after a workplace injury, with clear evidence of the victim’s temporary partial disability, temporary total disability, permanent partial disability, or permanent total disability, results in payment for lost wages at 66.66% of the victim’s normal wage.

Disability Benefits:

When a victim suffers permanent total disability after a workplace injury and is unable to return to work at all, workers’ compensation provides weekly wages for life. Alternatively, disabled workers may choose a lump-sum payment for compensation. For partial disability that prevents a return to work at an employee’s previous capacity, workers’ compensation provides partial disability benefits for those at a reduced pay level due to their injury.

Enhanced Weekly Benefits for Toxic Exposures:

Employees who suffer from occupational diseases caused by toxic exposures in the workplace may receive additional workers’ compensation benefits if they’ve filed a claim after January 1st, 2014. The enhanced benefit entitles an employee to 200% of the state’s weekly average wage for 100 weeks or 300% of the state’s weekly average wage for 212 weeks for those diagnosed with workplace-related mesothelioma.

Survivor Benefits:

If a Missouri employee dies from on-the-job injuries, their close dependent family members are entitled to survivor benefits at 66.66% of the employee’s weekly income plus $5,000 for funeral costs.

Call a St. Louis Workers' Compensation Accident Lawyer Today at (314) 863-4114

Does Missouri Workers’ Comp Pay for Pain and Suffering?

No, the workers’ compensation system in Missouri does not pay for pain and suffering. It only pays for medical bills, partial lost wages, disability, and wrongful death benefits. However, if someone else’s negligence caused your work injury, you may qualify for pain and suffering with a personal injury lawsuit.

While your St. Louis personal injury lawyer will need to prove negligence to bring a lawsuit against your employer, a coworker, a contractor, or another party for a work injury, this could lead to greater financial compensation for your losses. Once you accept a workers’ comp settlement, however, you can no longer sue your employer for negligence.

How Long Do You Have to File a Workers’ Comp Claim in Missouri?

If you get injured in an accident at work in Missouri, you must notify your employer or supervisor in writing within at least 30 days. To file a claim with the Department of Workers’ Compensation in Missouri, you must act within two years.

If you have grounds to file a personal injury lawsuit, you must do so within five years of the date of your accident or injury discovery. This is Missouri’s statute of limitations on most personal injury claims. The sooner you consult with an St. Louis workers’ compensation lawyer, the better, as this can help you preserve key evidence and avoid missing your statute of limitations.

What Is Workers’ Compensation Discrimination?

Many injured employees worry about employer retaliation after they file a workers’ compensation claim. Fortunately, Missouri law provides protection for these employees by prohibiting employers from retaliating against an employee because of their injury and workers’ compensation claim. A Missouri employer cannot react to an employee’s claim by doing any of the following:

  • Firing the employee
  • Demoting the employee
  • Harassing the employee
  • Reducing the employee’s hours or wages, unless related to the employee’s disability due to the accident

If an employer engages in any discriminatory behaviors toward an employee who filed a workers’ compensation claim, they leave themselves open to a lawsuit to compensate the employee for their damages.

Employers must also make reasonable adjustments to accommodate an injured employee’s return to work but are not required to retain disabled employees who can no longer perform their duties. Those employees who are unable to continue working in their previous capacity may file for permanent or temporary disability benefits in their workers’ compensation claim.

Loss of Employment After a Workplace Injury

When an injured employee is no longer able to perform their on-the-job duties even with reasonable accommodations, they may make a workers’ compensation claim for temporary or permanent disability benefits.

What is an Employer Negligence Lawsuit After a Workplace Injury in Missouri?

Missouri employers owe a duty of care to their employees to provide a safe workspace. If they fail in this duty and the result is an injury to an employee, the employee has the right to file a lawsuit against their employer for negligence to recover their damages providing they informed their employer of the injury within 30 days of their workplace accident or incident. If the employer is found liable, they must pay the employee’s workers’ compensation benefits.

What is a Third-Party Lawsuit After a Workplace Injury?

Some workplace injuries occur due to the negligence of a third party on the worksite. Common third parties named in workplace injury lawsuits include:

When an injury occurs due to third-party negligence, the injured employee can benefit from a third-party personal injury claim. In a successful claim, the employee could recover damages including their medical expenses, lost wages, future income loss, diminished earning capacity due to disability, and pain and suffering compensation. Unlike workers’ compensation benefits that don’t compensate injured employees for their pain and suffering, an employee may claim non-economic damages like pain and suffering or compensation for intangible damages like PTSD, disfigurement compensation, or compensation for traumatic limb loss in a personal injury lawsuit against a negligent third party.

What to Do If You’ve Been Injured on the Job

After experiencing a serious injury on the job, an employee needs to take specific steps to protect themselves physically and financially. After a catastrophic injury, an employee may be able to do little other than remain in place and wait for assistance, but if they can move safely enough to use their cell phone—or hand it to an uninjured coworker to use for them—it becomes an essential tool for documenting evidence and ensuring a more streamlined process for a workers’ compensation claim or lawsuit. After an injury, use your phone to do the following:

  • Call 911 to report the injury and request an ambulance or make arrangements for transportation to a hospital as soon as possible
  • Take photos of any visible injuries
  • Take photos of any tools, equipment, chemicals, or other hazards that contributed to the injury
  • Take photos of the accident scene
  • Add contact information of eyewitnesses to the injury
  • Record a brief description of how the injury occurred while it’s fresh in your mind since trauma may fade the memory later
  • Inform your supervisor about the injury and be sure to report it to your employer within 30 days of the accident or incident

At the hospital, be sure to ask for a complete medical examination and tell the doctor about every symptom, even if it seems mild. Some injuries worsen in the hours or days after an injury, or present symptoms only after the cease of adrenaline flow after an injury. Ask the doctor to write a detailed medical report of your injury with their recommendations for your treatment, as well as your prognosis for recovery since a complete report makes a workers’ compensation claim or lawsuit a more streamlined process.

Appealing a Denied Workers’ Compensation Claim

The workers’ compensation lawyers at the Floyd Law Firm are dedicated client advocates. If your claim for workers’ compensation in Missouri was wrongfully denied, we’re ready to ensure your appeal gets results. Your workers’ compensation lawyer will guide you through the following appeal process:

  • Ensure you file an appeal to the Labor Commission to review your claim within the 20-day deadline after a denial
  • Move your appeal to the Missouri Court of Appeals if it’s denied by the Labor Commission review
  • Work diligently on proving the circumstances of your injury to provide compelling evidence to the Court of Appeals, including photo, video, and eyewitness testimony that your injury occurred while you were on the job and medical expert testimony demonstrating the negative physical impacts of the injury on your ability to work

The evidence in your appeal must fully support your claim. An experienced workers’ compensation lawyer from Floyd Law Firm in St.Louis is the best advocate to appeal a denied workers’ compensation claim in Missouri.

Common Workers’ Compensation Injuries

When an injury occurs at work it can seriously disrupt the victim’s life and cause financial hardship for their family as well as pain and trauma to the victim. Often, workplace injuries require lengthy recovery times and ongoing medical care, physical therapy, or rehabilitation processes. Common injuries in Missouri workers’ compensation claims include the following:

  • Back injuries
  • Neck injuries
  • Knee injuries
  • Shoulder injuries
  • Fractures
  • Burn injuries
  • Crush injuries
  • Electric shocks
  • Traumatic brain injuries
  • Spinal cord damage
  • Traumatic limb loss
  • Soft tissue injuries
  • Bruises, lacerations, and abrasions
  • Repetitive motion injuries
  • Workplace-related illnesses

It’s important to consult with a workers’ compensation attorney in Missouri before moving forward on a workers’ compensation claim. Your St. Louis workers’ compensation attorney can help you determine the best way forward to maximize your financial recovery while you focus on maximizing your physical recovery. It’s critical to know all of the options available to you, including filing a workers’ compensation claim based on temporary or permanent disability, appealing a denied claim, or choosing to file a third-party injury lawsuit rather than a traditional workers’ compensation claim.

Contact Our Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in St. Louis

The St. Louis workers’ compensation attorneys at The Floyd Law Firm are here to help if you or someone you love suffered an injury in the workplace in Missouri. Our St. Louis workers’ compensation lawyers can guide you through a claim from start to finish. We will advocate for your best interests while making sure you have everything you need during this difficult time.

Call (314) 863-4114 or contact us online to schedule your free case consultation.