Milwaukee Workers' Compensation Blog

Since filing your workers' compensation claim six months ago, you've been diligent about attending every required medical appointment to treat your injury. While the treatment has helped thus far, your doctors say that more visits will be necessary to ensure a full recovery. Your employer's insurance company, however, wants you to get a second opinion. They have scheduled an Independent Medical Examination (IME) performed by a doctor of their choice, of which you are told your attendance is required.

When workers receive notice of an IME, they often have many questions. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions regarding IMEs to give you a better understanding of the process.

Seasonal work like construction is picking up as the Wisconsin spring slowly arrives. Road work, sidewalk and median maintenance, and new building construction will soon be underway throughout the area.

Given the physical nature of the job and the heavy machinery used, construction is one of the state's most dangerous jobs. Nationwide statistics highlight this danger all too well. In 2016, 991 private industry construction workers died on the job--21.1 percent of total workplace fatalities in the country that year (the most recent year with statistics available). Put in simpler terms, one of every five workplace deaths was from a construction accident.

If you were hurt at work, you may think filing a workers' compensation claim is your only option. In most situations, a work comp claim is the only recourse - paying lost time benefits, medical bills and potentially permanent disability or vocational benefits. That means no damages for pain and suffering or the impact on your family.

However, in certain situations filing a personal injury lawsuit is also a viable course of action!

Even when you have the proper training, there are many occupations that come with inherent risks. After all, accidents happen in virtually any employment setting. If you sustain an injury on the job, you may be eligible for workers' compensation benefits. Depending upon the factors surrounding the injury or illness, you may also be able to file a third-party claim against a non-employer. Specifically, if someone/something outside of your employer or coworker was responsible for your injury, you may explore a third-party personal injury lawsuit.

In order to file your claim successfully, you must understand all that it entails. There are a few different types of third-party claims you may file.