What Should I Do After a Work-Related Injury in Missouri?
Is the workplace a safe place in the state of Missouri? According to statistics, there’s a greater risk of danger than you think.
When you’re expected to be on the job 40+ hours a week, you would expect to be provided a safe environment to work in from your employers. But as research statistics from the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DOLIR) show, 55,700 cases of work-related injury were reported in Missouri. That’s about 3 out of 100 workers in the state of Missouri.
Whether you’re in a goods-producing industry (construction, natural gas mining, oil mining, etc.) or a service-providing industry (healthcare, transportation, education, etc.), your work environment may come with a risk of harm. However, it’s important to know that in such unfortunate circumstances, it’s the responsibility of the employer to provide due compensation, and it’s important to know your rights.
According to the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations website, employers with 5 or more employees are required by law to have worker’s compensation coverage for its employees, whether through self-insuring or through obtaining a worker’s comp policy. You can find out whether your employer is self-insured or is insured through a policy on the DOLIR website here.
The compensation you are owed becomes even more necessary when you are forced to miss days of work due to a work-related injury you suffered. This is not uncommon in work-related accidents – in fact, the DOLIR has found that in 2015, 28,000 people injured on the job were forced to lose work hours due to the severity of their injuries.
What Should You Do If You’ve Been Injured On The Job?
Though your employer is responsible for providing due compensation, it is your responsibility to make sure your voice is heard. Injured workers in Missouri can file a claim for compensation to report their work-related injury and need for compensation from the employer. This claim should then be mailed to the Division of Worker Compensation (or filled out at any Division office), and should be submitted within two years of the reported incident.
Though this is the first step to starting the legal process to receive your compensation, the process that follows can often be more complicated than you think. Fulfilling a worker’s comp case will involve finding and hiring a worker’s comp lawyer, having said lawyer cooperate with the employer or employer’s insurance provider to work out an out-of-court settlement. This can take many months to resolve, and if the case eventually goes to trial, you’re looking at an even longer and more costly process to eventually receive the workers compensation settlement you deserve.
How Can I Receive Workers Comp Cash Now?
If you’ve been put out of work due to a work-related injury, you know good and well that just because you’ve stopped working doesn't mean that daily expenses have stopped. And with the medical and legal bills that come with facing a work-related injury, it’s not always possible to wait the many months to a year for your case to finally be settled.
Thankfully, Bridgeway Legal Funding can provide you with a pre-settlement advance to help put the cash you need in your pocket now rather than later. If you’re not familiar with an “Lawsuit Cash Advance", it’s essentially a loan based on your estimated settlement amount which you pay back only if you win your case.
Unlike the endless legal process involved with settling your case, it takes no time at all for qualifying workers to get their pre-settlement advance. To apply, simply call Bridgeway at (800) 531-4066 or apply on our website. Shortly after applying, Bridgeway will call you to discuss the ins and outs of your worker’s comp case. We’ll need to hear your side of the story, as well as review some documentation and information regarding your case in order to determine the amount your eligible to receive. Once we speak with your lawyer about your case, you can receive a settlement cash advance within 24 hours.
Workers all throughout the state of Missouri may be eligible to receive a pre-settlement advance from Bridgeway Legal Funding. This includes, but is not limited to, the following counties:
St. Louis County St. Francois County Puklaski County
Jackson County Dunklin County Cass County
Boone County Platte County Greene County
Jasper County St. Charles County Clay County
Moreover, workers in a wide variety of industries are eligible to receive an advance. This includes industries such as oil and natural gas refineries, construction, transportation, nursing, education, retail, electrical, plumbing, childcare, elderly care, social work, and many, many more.
If you are waiting endlessly for your worker’s compensation case to be settled and need cash today, be sure to apply for pre-settlement funding as soon as possible.
Resources:
Work-Related Injury Statistics in Missouri
Process for Injured Workers in Missouri
Claim For Compensation Form (Division of Workers Compensation)
Where to Apply For a Pre-Settlement Advance