When a work-related injury sidelines you, your employer is supposed to provide workers' compensation benefits. These benefits include things like medical care and a certain portion of your usual pay. The problem is that your claim may not sail smoothly through the process, and you might be left with an injury, no way to return to work, and no money coming in at all. Read on to understand what you need to do and how to do it.

Contingency Fee Arrangements

You may have heard of lawyers that take cases on a contingency fee basis. What that means is that they will be paid out of any financial payments you might be awarded, usually from an insurance company. This type of fee agreement exists in several areas of the law where money is involved and serves as a valuable method of getting expert legal help without having to pay any money to get your case started. For example:

1. Social Security lawyers use contingency fee agreements to get paid from a disabled person's back pay (the money owed while awaiting approval).

2. Personal injury lawyers use contingency fee agreements to get paid from either a court judgment or a settlement with the at-fault party's insurance carrier.

3. Workers' comp lawyers use contingency fee agreements to get paid from a settlement with the workers' comp carrier.

Workers' Comp Settlements

In the best case scenario, your employer acts on your work injury claim and provides benefits right away. When there is a dispute, however, the payments may not be forthcoming, which can create a cascading effect of an injury and bills piling up. An injury that turns out to be permanent calls for a lump sum settlement. This money is meant to compensate the injured worker for the lost work time in the future. The amount you are eligible to get depends on several factors, such as:

• Age

• Education

• Salary before the injury

• Percentage of disability (you can be 75% disabled, for example)

Getting Representation

Unless you are owed a lump sum settlement, a contingency fee arrangement is not possible. The workers' comp lawyer will evaluate the facts of your case and give an opinion as to the likelihood of you being offered a lump sum settlement for your permanent injury. As long as you can show that you are permanently injured because of a workplace accident or illness, you should be provided with the legal help you need to negotiate the monetary payment you are owed.

The moment you realize that the claim is not progressing as it should, speak to a workers' compensation attorney.