If you are an employee who received an injury while on the job or developed a job-related occupational illness, Ohio workers’ compensation law provides a system for you to recover financial benefits. The complex law and regulations include timelines and deadlines for making a claim. At the Cleveland injury law firm of Caravona & Berg, we help workers throughout the state navigate the complicated workers’ comp process to ensure they receive the full compensation they deserve.

Our Experience and Commitment to Clients

Our practice at Caravona & Berg focuses exclusively on representing individuals and their families in all types of Ohio injury cases, including workers’ compensation cases. We have decades of experience and have recovered millions of dollars for our clients. Our record of securing jury verdicts and settlements attests to our accomplishments and demonstrates our superior legal skills and unwavering dedication to achieving justice for our clients.

We attribute our success to excelling at what we do by working harder and preparing more thoroughly than the opponent, in addition to building trust in our client relationships. Every client knows that we do everything within our power to achieve a just and fair result for them. We draw on our in-depth understanding of the workers’ comp law and the tools provided by the workers’ compensation system for recovering compensation for injured workers.

In communicating with clients, we have a compassionate, straightforward approach. We firmly believe that honest, forthright communication is the only way to build a strong working relationship with a client. Our approach includes listening carefully to all your concerns, answering all your questions, and making certain you have reasonable expectations about the legal process.

Unlike some law firms that settle every case, we do not hesitate to take a case to trial when an insurance company is not willing to offer fair compensation to a client. We never charge you to talk with us about your accident. If you retain us to represent you, we charge fees on a contingent basis, so you pay us nothing unless we recover compensation for you.

Workers’ Compensation Claims in Ohio

Ohio law and regulations establish a complex system through which injured employees receive benefits for on-the-job injuries from accidents and occupational diseases. The compensation includes coverage for medical expenses, temporary or permanent disability benefits, vocational rehabilitation, educational assistance, and death benefits for families who lose a loved one because of a work-related injury.

The workers’ comp process includes timelines and deadlines for making and pursuing a claim. Failure to meet the requirements can result in loss of benefits. In addition, you may encounter a denial of benefits or difficulty obtaining benefits in a situation where you should receive compensation. Disputes over workers’ compensation benefits are not uncommon. Especially if you suffered a serious work injury, having legal representation ensures that you get the benefits provided by the law.

Our team at Caravona & Berg knows how to pursue workers’ compensation claims and how to address difficulties in the intricate process. We know how to negotiate settlements in appropriate cases. But we do not hesitate to appeal adverse decisions when necessary to get justice for the injured worker.

Third-Party Liability for Work Injuries

When workers’ compensation covers a work injury from an accident or illness, an employee cannot sue their employer for the injury. However, there are circumstances in which the employee may have a personal injury claim against a negligent third party for an on-the-job injury. In that situation, the worker must pursue the separate third-party claim in a personal injury action.

A common type of third-party claim for a work injury case involves on-the-job injuries received in an auto accident caused by a negligent driver. Another type of third-party claim is a construction injury caused by the negligence of someone who works for an employer other than the injured worker’s employer. Other situations may also create a third-party claim for an injured worker.

Getting help from a lawyer for a third-party claim is strongly recommended. The process includes filing a claim with the third-party’s liability insurance company and may also require filing a personal injury action against the third party. The injured worker must demonstrate that the third-party’s negligence caused the injury in order to recover. That requires investigation, gathering documents, and conducting analysis to prove the third-party’s liability. Those tasks require professional knowledge and skills.

If you have a third-party claim for a work injury, it does not mean that you might get double the amount of compensation by filing both a workers’ comp claim and a personal injury claim. If you recover compensation in the personal injury case for amounts paid by workers’ compensation, you must repay the benefits paid by workers’ compensation from your personal injury award. However, if you have a third-party claim, you may recover compensation in the personal injury claim that exceeds the amounts paid by workers’ compensation, so there are sound reasons why you would still file both types of claims in a third-party liability situation. For example, you may recover compensation for pain and suffering in a personal injury case, but workers’ comp does not provide compensation for pain and suffering.

Our team at Caravona & Berg has decades of experience in both workers’ compensation claims and personal injury claims. When a client has a workers’ comp claim, we analyze the circumstances to determine if there is also a third-party claim and pursue the third-party claim to recover additional compensation. Some lawyers who handle workers’ compensation do not also handle personal injury claims, which is a disadvantage for an injured worker.

Schedule a Free Consultation with Caravona & Berg

If you received an on-the-job injury or developed an occupational illness, we encourage you to schedule a free consultation to talk with us about your workers’ compensation claim by calling 216.696.6500, sending an email to info@cbjustice.com, or using the online contact form. From our Cleveland location, we help clients throughout the State of Ohio.