Virginia, MN, Work-Related Injury Lawyers
Hazardous conditions are present in nearly every workplace. It is highly likely that over the course of your career you or a loved one will experience an accident related to employment. Once you prove that your injury is job-related, there are a number of things you can do to receive compensation. In these situations, it is important to be aware of your legal rights as an employee. In some cases, employers fail to fully inform employees of all of their rights under Minnesota workers’ compensation laws.
At Trenti Law Firm, our work injury lawyers are well-versed in Minnesota workers’ compensation law as well as in personal injury law. We are here to ensure that you receive all of the benefits to which you are entitled through all pertinent and available legal routes. Our firm has built a strong reputation for high-quality legal help to all individuals and families throughout the northeastern Minnesota area. We believe in protecting our clients as friends and community members with the services we can provide. When you are facing a difficult situation, such as an injury that can be physically, emotionally, and financially stressful, you can turn to our experienced team of skilled trial lawyers.
Injured in the workplace? Schedule a consultation with a Virginia, MN, work-related injury attorney by calling our team at (218) 282-4426 or sending us an email with your contact details.
Workers’ Compensation Law
Per the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, workers’ compensation is a “no-fault system designed to provide benefits to employees who are injured as a result of their employment activities.” The system protects both employers and employees because 1. employer liability is limited and 2. employees do have to prove negligence by their employer to hold them liable. Employers also cannot defend themselves from liability by asserting the employee was negligent.
Injuries covered by workers’ compensation can include any that are “caused, aggravated, or accelerated by the employment activities.”
These injuries can include:
- Traumatic injuries, such as from slip, trip, and falls, overhead objects falling on you, burns, equipment failures, electrical shocks, and more, which happen suddenly and are acute
- Repetitive type injuries, such as carpal syndrome, tendinitis, bursitis, chronic back pain from repeated stress to a body part
- Occupational diseases from exposure to some negative factor in the workplace, such as mesothelioma from asbestos, hearing loss from constant hazardous noise, asthma from poor air quality, or cancer from toxic chemicals/fumes
- Qualifying mental injuries, such as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
The only qualification for workers’ compensation involves showing that your on-the-job activities substantially contributed to your disability and/or need for medical treatment.
Protecting Your Rights
If you are injured at your workplace, it is essential that you report the incident immediately. State law requires accidents to be reported in a specified time frame after the occurrence. An injury that has occurred over a long period of time must be reported as soon as you realize that the injury was caused from your employment.
No matter who is at fault, an injured employee is entitled to worker’s compensation under Minnesota law. Worker’s compensation laws hold employers responsible for handing the medical costs of an injury that happened while on the job. It also requires the employer to pay an injured employee a portion of his or her salary for the duration of the period in which the employee is unable to work. In some cases, you may also be entitled to vocational rehabilitation.
In order to be sure that your rights will be honored or if you run into disputes with your employer, contact a Virginia, MN workers’ compensation attorney at Trenti Law Firm for legal counsel.
How Our Virginia, MN, Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Can Help
Many specifics are involved when dealing with a work-related accident. If you want to be certain that the process of reporting an injury and making a claim is accomplished properly, we recommend that you turn to our firm as soon as possible. We can guide you through the procedure for optimum results, especially if your employer is uncooperative. Countless workers throughout St. Louis and Carlton Counties have trusted us with work injury claims of every type and severity. You can be confident that our experienced lawyers will work to obtain all of the compensation to which you are entitled.