Working on an oil field can be extremely dangerous. Even if you do everything you can to keep yourself safe, if your company overlooks safety concerns or your coworkers make mistakes, you could suddenly find yourself facing a life-altering injury.
Experienced oil field injury lawyer Mickey Fine has helped injured workers throughout Bakersfield for more than three decades. He is committed to helping his clients pursue the maximum compensation to which they are entitled under the law.
7 Ways an Oil Field Injury Lawyer Can Help You
After suffering an oil field injury, you need to be very careful to protect your legal rights. While you may be entitled to financial compensation, you could lose your legal rights if you aren’t careful. With this in mind, here are seven important ways an oil field injury lawyer can help you:
1. Protecting Your Right to Workers’ Compensation Benefits
In most cases, when you get injured on an oil field in California, you will be entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits. California law requires most companies to provide workers’ compensation coverage for their employees, and eligible employees can file claims on a “no-fault” basis.
But, while you might not need to prove fault in order to collect benefits, this does not mean that collecting benefits is easy. In fact, it can be an extremely time-consuming and difficult process. An oil field injury lawyer can handle the process for you while you focus on your recovery.
2. Accurately Calculating Your Workers’ Compensation Benefits
One of the more challenging aspects of filing for workers’ compensation benefits is determining how much you are entitled to recover. Unfortunately, you cannot rely on your employer’s insurance company to accurately calculate your benefits. But, when you hire a lawyer who has your best interests in mind, you can feel confident that you are seeking the full benefits you deserve.
3. Filing a Claim Outside of Workers’ Compensation
In many cases, injured oil field workers will have claims outside of workers’ compensation. Oil field accidents can result from a wide range of causes, and many of these causes will give rise to “third party” claims.
If you have a “third party” claim, you can seek compensation above and beyond the benefits that are available to you through workers’ comp. While workers’ compensation covers your medical bills and a portion of your lost wages, filing a “third party” claim gives you the opportunity to recover compensation for your:
- Medical expenses (current and future)
- Full lost wages (current and future)
- Other financial costs (i.e. prescription and medical device costs)
- Pain and suffering
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Emotional trauma
- Loss of companionship and consortium
- Loss of enjoyment of life
4. Negotiating for a Fair Settlement on Your Behalf
Whether you have a workers’ compensation claim, a “third party” claim, or both, negotiating a fair settlement will allow you to move on as quickly as possible. While you stand virtually no chance of negotiating a fair settlement on your own, an experienced oil field injury lawyer will be able to present compelling arguments for why the insurance companies should settle out of court.
5. Helping You Avoid Costly Mistakes
When you have a claim for an oil field injury, there are several costly mistakes you need to avoid. For example, if you see the wrong doctor, you could lose your workers’ compensation eligibility. If you wait too long to take legal action, this could lead to the loss of your legal rights as well. An oil field injury lawyer can help you avoid these mistakes so you don’t miss out on recovering just compensation.
6. Dealing With Delays, Denials, and Other Issues
When seeking financial compensation for an oil field injury, you can expect to encounter various issues along the way. Insurance companies will do everything they can to delay paying for as long as possible, and they will deny claims if they have any reason to do so. In some cases, they will even deny claims without a reason. Encountering these issues on your own can be devastating, but you can avoid falling victim to the insurance companies’ tactics with an experienced lawyer on your side.
7. Taking Your Claim(s) to Court if Necessary
Finally, if necessary, your lawyer can take your claim(s) to court. Hopefully, this won’t be necessary; but, if it is, you will need experienced legal representation. In many cases, simply hiring a lawyer who has a successful track record in court will help convince the insurance companies to settle before trial.
Talk to Bakersfield Oil Field Injury Lawyer Mickey Fine for Free
If you’ve been injured in an accident at work, Bakersfield oil field injury lawyer Mickey Fine can help you seek the financial compensation you deserve. For a free, no-obligation consultation, call 661-333-3333 or tell us how we can reach you online now.