Is it common for a lawyer to have your settlement and had to send it to workers’ comp before you can get your check?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is it common for a lawyer to have your settlement and had to send it to workers’ comp before you can get your check?
Asked on May 1, 2009 under Personal Injury, South Carolina
Answers:
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 15 years ago | Contributor
It is not only common, for a personal injury settlement to be affected by workers' compensation, it is usually required by law.
Your lawsuit settlement is payment for at least some of your lost wages and disability from the accident. The same is true of your workers' comp payments. Workers compensation is usually paid very quickly, because fault does not matter; if you were hurt on the job, proof of that, and of your income, is all that is needed. The lawsuit, of course, was more involved and took longer.
The Workers Compensation system is designed to get money to injured workers quickly. But it is also designed to be as inexpensive to the employers (who pay premiums for separate insurance policies, to pay workers comp benefits) as possible. So, to the extent your settlement is paying you a second time, for the loss already paid by your workers compensation benefits, the workers comp benefits get repaid to the insurance company.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.