When you’re facing an expensive legal battle, one thought may be bouncing around your mind: Wouldn’t I get more money if I did not hire an attorney? This idea may at first appear to make financial sense, but the truth is that everything depends on the specific details of your case.

There are so many variables in a case, which can make it hard to know whether or not your decision to invest in an attorney was the right one until the case is complete and the results are known.

One such variable is timing — such as when you choose to hire an attorney and when you end up being able to return to work. For instance, you might hire an attorney early on in your case. This is generally a good idea because we can help guide you from day one and make sure you are doing everything you can to protect yourself and your right to benefits.

However, it could be that you’re feeling back to your old self and ready to return to work within six months. In this case, you’d be getting less mileage out of your attorney’s fee than if your case went on for a long time. Of course, you’d rather be healthy with a small case than the other way around.

No lawyer can guarantee the results of any one case — there’s too much uncertainty as to what may happen. However, if you choose an attorney who specializes in your area of concern and who is part of a team that’s known as one of the leading groups within that area of law, you greatly increase your chances of winning your case. As attorneys, the Oxner + Permar team is specially educated and experienced in dealing with workers’ comp cases, which is why we’ve won so many.

In many cases, Oxner + Permar is able to negotiate a settlement that is considerably larger than you would have gotten on your own, even after you’ve factored in your attorney’s fee. This is because we’re specialists when it comes to workers’ compensation; we know every facet and nuance of the law. We’re able to leverage that knowledge to make sure you’re fully compensated.

In many respects, the law is complicated. This is why many lawyers specialize. At Oxner + Permar, we set a high standard for ourselves because we care a great deal about understanding your case and how to help you win. We’re probably not the people you want to call when you need to fight a traffic ticket because that’s just not our area. But workers’ comp is our area of expertise.

If you’ve got a workers’ compensation issue and you’re trying to decide what to do, remember that when dealing with any case, knowing the law is critical to getting what you are entitled to. Working with an experienced attorney is safer than going at it alone.

At Oxner + Permar, we are dedicated to using our knowledge and experience to help you get the benefits you deserve.

If you’re a nurse who got injured while lifting a patient, chances are your injury would be covered by workers’ comp. If you’re a construction worker and you broke your arm while working at a construction site, you’d expect this to be covered by workers’ comp as well. But what if you were a professional football player who sustained a brain injury from multiple concussions? Should that also be covered under workers’ compensation? That’s the question that is being asked as former NFL players are suing the NFL over Workers’ Compensation. 

When you think of “injured on the job” and “workers’ compensation,” football isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Fair enough: Playing a sport doesn’t exactly seem like work, does it?

But let’s look at the law. In North Carolina, you are generally eligible for workers’ compensation if you are injured while “performing the duties of employment.” Technically, for a professional football player, taking the brunt of a head-on collision from a defensive lineman is what they’re hired to do — they’re performing a duty of employment.

This is the argument that’s being made by several former NFL players. Tony Gaiter (formerly of the New England Patriots and the San Diego Chargers) and 141 other former NFL players are suing the NFL for damages from brain injuries. Currently, NFL players affected by brain injuries are not covered by workers’ compensation despite the fact that these injuries occurred as a result of their profession. The hope is that this case will bring about reform to the way the NFL handles brain injuries and the treatment of the players.

Regardless of your profession, you deserve to be covered by workers’ compensation. If you are injured on the job, contact an experienced lawyer at Oxner + Permar for a free consultation.

In order to keep your Social Security benefits, you’re going to need to prove to the Social Security Administration that your disabilities and symptoms are as severe as you claim. However, the question may arise, “How do I prove credibility of my symptoms?” This can be difficult to prove when symptoms such as exhaustion, memory loss, and difficulties with communicating or your senses are based on your word. However, there are things you can do to prove that you are being adversely affected by your symptoms.

If you show that you are visiting a doctor and following their advice, it demonstrates that your symptoms are bad enough to require medical intervention. It also demonstrates the need for advice in the first place. For instance, if your doctor prescribes that you wear a knee brace, wearing the brace will prove that your knee pain is bad enough to warrant one. On the other hand, if you are not seeking treatment or following advice, Social Security will assume that your injuries are not as bad as you say.

However, there are a few reasons that you might not follow your doctor’s advice, and Social Security does take these into consideration.

1. You are uninsured or unable to afford treatment.
2. Treatment worsens your condition (e.g. because of side effects).
3. Your doctor believes that treatment will not help you.
4. You find alternative treatments (e.g. changing routines to alleviate pain, exercising, etc.)
5. The prescribed treatment is against your religion.

Mental illness is considered a special case when dealing with Social Security Disability benefits. It is fairly common for those with mental illnesses to miss appointments or neglect treatment. In many cases, these are symptoms of their mental illness. Therefore, Social Security is likely to make exceptions for those with mental illnesses.

Seeking medical treatment and following your doctor’s advice is the best thing you can do to make sure you maintain your social security benefits. If you have any questions, be sure to contact an attorney for a free consultation.

When working certain jobs, you’re going to be exposed to certain dangers that you might not be exposed to in everyday life. For instance, if you’re an electrician, chances are your probability of experiencing an electric shock is higher than that of someone who isn’t an electrician. The same is true of occupational diseases. You might have heard the term “occupational disease” and know that they’re covered by workers’ compensation. But what is an occupational disease? Is it just a sickness you get while at work?

Well, not quite. You may catch the flu from a coworker and miss a week of work, but this does not mean that you are eligible for workers’ compensation. An occupational disease is a condition that disables you due to exposure to a hazard to which the general public is not equally exposed. It’s that last bit that rules out the flu. You could just as easily catch the flu by being out in public.

So what kinds of things do qualify? One famous example is a coal miner who developed a black lung from working in a mine. More common examples would be something such as repetitive motion injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome or rotator cuff tears.

It is even possible to win a back injury as an occupational disease, but it’s very tough to do so. The problem is that there are special rules for back claims. The law gets very specific, very fast. Succeeding with these claims is pretty difficult unless you are very experienced in the law.

If you’ve developed an occupational disease as a result of your work, don’t hesitate to contact an experienced attorney. We can guide you through the process, and help you make your case.

An occupational disease is a condition caused directly by the work that you do. If you develop an occupational disease, be sure to contact an experienced attorney. You may qualify for benefits.

This is a fair question. Especially because a claim denial probably means your budget is pretty tight — with potential lost wages and medical bills to deal with. However, the attorney’s fee is an important part of how most firms work. Read on to understand why you still need to pay the attorney fee when the insurance company has wrongly denied your claim.

When explaining why you need to pay an attorney’s fee, many attorneys give the “but for” answer: Basically you wouldn’t get anything but for the work that your attorney does for you. If you chose not to hire a lawyer and didn’t seek any kind of appeal, then you would definitely not be awarded any money.

However, if you hire an attorney, they may be able to convince the Industrial Commission to have our fees shifted to their insurance company for a frivolous denial. At Oxner + Permar, we do our best to make sure that you are not victimized by these frivolous denials. The law penalizes parties for “stubborn, unfounded litigiousness,” so we can be pretty aggressive about making sure that these penalties are enacted against wrongful denials.

Unfortunately, due to recent laws enacted by former Governor McCrory, there’s been a decline in these kinds of awards. This could be a temporary phase though. Regardless, we’re still filing claims when we think the defendants are being ridiculous. We know your rights and we’re passionate about defending them.

At Oxner + Permar, we understand that you’re already dealing with a lot of stress and financial strain. That’s why we offer a free consultation and work on a contingency basis. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you get the compensation you deserve.