Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Attorneys

When you suffer an injury in an accident, it can seem like your whole world is crashing down around you. Life as you know it may never be the same, and you need someone on your side to help you navigate this new path. As you focus on your recovery and on rebuilding your life,... Read more »

What is an Impairment Rating in a Workers’ Comp Case? If you suffer an injury on the job in Arkansas, you want to get healed quickly, so you can return to work and resume your normal daily activities. Your employer and their insurer want this too. The faster you return to work, the faster they can stop paying your workers’ compensation claims. However, what happens when your injuries don’t heal or when you suffer permanent or total disability? When this occurs, your doctor must rate your impairment. This impairment rating helps to determine how long you can receive workers’ compensation benefits and how much you are entitled to receive. Each impairment has a dollar value, and the degree of impairment also matters. Your employer’s insurance company will use this impairment rating when calculating your benefits. Often, the insurance company and injured worker do not agree on the extent of the injury or the level of impairment. This is where an impairment rating helps. The rating will tell the insurer and your employer if you cannot return to work or return to work in a lighter capacity. This impairment rating is critical when it comes to receiving all the benefits you are entitled to, including workers’ compensation claims, SSA disability benefits, and other employment benefits. GET FREE CONSULT NOW  

When you suffer an injury in an accident, you may need to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit to obtain the compensation you need. With the right personal injury lawyer on your team, you can typically get significantly more money for your accident and injuries. Your lawyer will work to negotiate the best possible... Read more »

When to Hire a Worker’s Comp Lawyer After a Work Injury? In Arkansas, injured workers can receive money for medical expenses and compensation for lost wages through workers’ compensation claims. You receive these benefits if you suffer an injury or illness at work or while performing job-related duties. Better yet, you do not have to prove fault or establish liability to receive these benefits. Even if you are to blame for your accident, if you are injured at work, you have a right to file a workers’ compensation claim. While this may seem easy and pretty straightforward, insurance companies and employers are often reluctant to pay these benefits as long as needed. They may push workers to return to work too soon or look for any evidence to reduce the length of time they must pay these benefits. For these reasons, it is important to have an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer on your side from the start. At Rainwater, Holt & Sexton, our Arkansas workers’ compensation lawyers know how to get the most for our clients. We understand the complexities surrounding many workers’ compensation claims, and we can help you through this difficult time. Call us today to learn more about what we can do for you!

What is an Independent Medical Examination & How Does an IME Impact my Workers Comp Case? After an on-the-job injury in Arkansas, one of the first steps when filing a workers’ compensation claim is to visit the treating doctor for examination of your injury. This is an important step in getting a diagnosis, as well as much-needed treatment. However, your treating doctor is not the only one that will likely examine you. Your employer’s insurers are allowed to contract an independent medical examiner to examine you, too. The purpose of independent medical exams (IME) is to act as a cross-reference, ensuring workers are not exaggerating their injury. This IME is important to insurance companies because there are over 4.5 million workplace injuries every year. These injuries result in payouts of over $62 billion and workers’ compensation insurers want to be sure that they are not paying more than is absolutely necessary. As a result, independent medical exams are often a requirement when seeking benefits. Unfortunately, although the word “independent” is in their title, these examinations and the physicians who conduct them are not completely sovereign from the insurance company. In 2009, the New York Times found in a review of case files, medical records, and interviews that IME reports tend to benefit insurers. For this reason alone, it is important to have someone on your side who can help you through the initial IME. You need a workers’ compensation attorney who can prepare you for the initial meeting with an independent medical examiner, so you can obtain the compensation and benefits you rightfully deserve. GET FREE CONSULT NOW

How Insurance Companies Take Advantage of Injured Workers An insurance company is a business looking to make a profit. An insurance company looks for ways to help a worker’s compensation claim end up so the insurance company spends less money to help you recover. An insurance company may put its interests ahead of yours. There are certain events that can affect the outcome of your workers’ compensation claim. Here are a few ways an insurer may try to rip you off. GET FREE CONSULT NOW Insurance Companies Send You To Their Doctors Worker’s compensation law allows the employer to choose the initial physician. The “company” doctor is likely a doctor chosen by the worker’s compensation insurance company or a doctor on a list of preferred doctors that handle their claims. Doctors who agree to have a relationship with insurance companies receive income from the insurance company referrals. This places the doctor in a position where the doctors could feel obligated to make a diagnosis or recommendation that is not objectionable to the worker’s compensation adjuster. A doctor who disagrees too frequently with the insurance adjuster’s recommendation could end up off the approved list. Insurance Companies Delay Approval of Medical Treatment Even if your doctor or multiple doctors suggest that you need treatment for your injuries or need other medical care, an insurer can delay the decision by requesting opinions from several different doctors, waiting for a doctor to give an opinion that matches the insurer’s view of the claim. A delay in approval for surgery or medication can lead to longer recovery or permanent consequences. Insurance Companies Blame Injuries on Existing Conditions An insurance company can blame your injury on an existing condition like aging, prior injuries, or the structure of your body to avoid compensating you for lost wages and treatment. If they can make an argument that your injury was caused by something other than workplace conditions, they can save themselves from paying for your recovery. If you feel your employer’s worker’s compensation insurer is taking advantage of you or your claim is not reaching a fair outcome, discuss your situation with a  workers’ comp lawyer like Rainwater, Holt & Sexton.

What’s the Difference Between Workers’ Compensation and SSDI? When you suffer a serious, life-changing injury at work, you may find yourself considering both workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). When your injury results in permanent disability, you need to be able to collect the benefits you are entitled to. But should you collect workers’ compensation or SSDI benefits? The answer to that depends on your injury and your degree of disability. It also depends on whether you can obtain approval for SSDI benefits. In some cases, you may be able to collect both. Unfortunately, collecting the benefits you need after a serious and disabling injury is not easy. That is why so many injured Arkansas workers turn to Rainwater, Holt & Sexton to help them after suffering a significant work-related injury. Our Arkansas SSDI lawyers can help you through the process of getting both worker’s compensation benefits and SSDI benefits if you qualify. We can also represent you through the appeals process to ensure that you get the money you need to move forward in life after suffering a disability. Call us today to start reviewing all your legal options. GET FREE CONSULT NOW

Whiplash Lawyers in Arkansas Auto, Truck, Equipment, and Workers’ Comp Accidents in Little Rock and Beyond The forces of an accident can be severe and can damage the delicate muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the neck. The same can occur with trauma from a slip and fall, equipment accident, nursing home abuse, or assault. Due to the nature of these injuries, the full extent of damage is not always fully apparent right after a crash or other accident. However, in the hours and days following the accident, victims may begin to experience pain, stiffness, and numbness in their neck and extremities. Whether you feel all the effects of whiplash right away or start to experience them later, it is important to seek medical help immediately and then speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Neck injuries, such as whiplash, can result in a lifetime of pain and disability if they are not treated promptly. Even with good medical care, some injured accident victims will develop chronic neck pain and impairment. As such, it is important to contact an experienced Arkansas car accident lawyer as soon as you can after your accident. Your personal injury lawyer will be able to protect your rights to full and complete compensation, no matter how serious your injuries may be. CONTACT US FOR A FREE CONSULTATION

Most of us have been injured at some point in our lives, whether it was a past sports injury or a more recent car accident. When you are injured at work, however, you may wonder how a pre-existing injury or condition will affect your ability to file a claim and how you can prove that... Read more »

An honest day’s work ends in an honest day’s pay. We’ve all heard that. Arkansas families have been living by that code since 1836. It’s a way of life. But … and on-the-job accident can turn that way of life upside down. Workers’ compensation insurance is a no-fault system designed to compensate a worker who has... Read more »

Often times, when a person is injured at work, they end up with permanent restrictions that prevent the employee from going back to the job that he or she had at the time of the injury. This can be a very scary time for the employee and their family, because at first glance it looks... Read more »

One of the biggest misconceptions in a workers’ compensation claim is that the claimant is entitled to 100% lost wages while he or she is off work for a work related injury. In reality, there is nothing in the Arkansas laws that tells the claimant that they are entitled to recover 100% of their wages... Read more »

Workers’ Compensation exists to help injured workers get back on their feet again. It’s a safeguard for hard-working people just like you who deserve a helping hand in the event of a serious accident on the job. But what kind of benefits can you secure through workers’ compensation? Here are 3 types of workers’ comp... Read more »