If you've been injured on the job and are collecting workers' compensation while you recuperate, at some point you may be thinking about a settlement. The last thing you want to do is negotiate with an insurance company yourself. The following are several reasons you should consult a workers' compensation attorney.

An attorney can assist you in deciding whether to settle

This may not be possible to do on your own. A lawyer can look at your medical condition, and based upon their experience with insurance companies and your specific health issues, they can arrive at a range of dollar amounts you may get in a settlement. Ultimately, you will have to make the decision whether the settlement that you are likely to get will be worth it or not.

An attorney can assist you in getting a settlement

Once you have decided that you would like to settle, there is still the issue of achieving it. Workers' compensation settlements are not like personal injury cases. Although you are required to stand before a judge, neither party is forced into a settlement offer. If an insurance company isn't satisfied, they can just walk away, and you will get no settlement. For this reason, an attorney is important not just for their negotiation skills to get the best settlement, but also skilled at getting the settlement to begin with.

An attorney can assist you in deciding to return to work

Whether you are thinking about returning to work with your current employer in a lighter work capacity or are thinking about working for someone else, an attorney can help you understand the implications for your settlement. In some situations, it will not affect your settlement, but there may be cases when it will. If so, an attorney can explain how much it will decrease your settlement. It may be you need to go back to work to support your family. It may also be that you are legally bound to return to work, given your partial recovery.

When you sit down to consult an attorney about a settlement, you are likely to want to know how much your settlement is worth. You need to understand that this is something an attorney will not be able to tell you right away. They will look at all the information available, including your diagnosis, future medical procedures, surgeries, and rehabilitation. The lawyer can only give you a range for a settlement. You will decide whether to settle. If you want a settlement, an attorney can then proceed to negotiate with the insurance company. You may want to go back to work. An attorney can help you understand how this will affect your settlement.

Contact a workers' compensation attorney for more information.