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Helping Iowans Who Are Injured & Disabled Get the Work Injury Compensation They Deserve
Fight for the benefits you deserve with the help of a trusted workers’ compensation attorney. If you suffered an injury or illness due to your employment, you may be entitled to workman’s comp benefits. Schott Mauss & Associates has successfully represented thousands of people in their pursuit of work injury compensation against private businesses, government entities, and insurance companies.
Workers’ Compensation Process
Disclaimer: What follows is a generalized discussion of how Iowans are compensated when they are injured on the job. This is not meant to be definitive or comprehensive. For specific information applicable to your situation, contact an experienced attorney.
The first step for all workman’s comp claims is to immediately report the injury to your employer. Your notice should include:
- Your name and contact information
- The time and date of your injury
- Where your injury occurred
- The body parts that were injured
Once you report the injury, your employer will need to file with the workers’ compensation insurance carrier and other parties right away. From here, you may be entitled to benefits and care medical expenses, temporary benefits (healing period), and permanency benefits if the injury will impact your future.
At Schott Mauss & Associates, our job is to maximize your workers’ compensation settlement for permanency benefits. In some cases, we will help you develop an explanation of how your injury has impacted your ability to work.
Common Workplace Injuries
Naturally, some occupations are more hazardous than others. When we think of workplace injuries, we often think of serious and catastrophic injuries occurring at dangerous workplaces such as construction sites and health care settings.
Such common workplace injuries may include:
- Lifting injuries: herniated disks, repetitive stress, or cumulative joint injuries and others
- Fall injuries: broken bones, spine injuries, traumatic brain injuries, (TBI) and others
- Injuries resulting from use of power tools or motor vehicles: amputations, explosions, blunt force injuries, and others
- Burn injuries: resulting from explosions, exposure to heat sources, fumes, or chemicals and other dangers on the job
Some occupations seem relatively safe, but workplace injuries even in protected environments can leave workers needing medical care and time off work.
Examples include:
- Repetitive stress or cumulative injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological ramifications of all kinds of difficult situations, such as robberies, that can come up at any job
- Injuries occurring because of building-related hazards and disasters in the workplace such as fires
Depending on your physical condition, your workman’s compensation settlement and benefits (beyond medical care) may be structured to compensate you for:
- Temporary Total Disability (TTD)
- Temporary Partial Disability (TPD)
- Healing Period (HP)
- Permanent Partial Disability (PPD)
- Permanent Total Disability (PTD)
Bad Faith Claims
When you are injured on the job and your employer has workers’ compensation insurance, the insurance company cannot unreasonably delay or deny your benefits. Iowa insurance companies are required to act in good faith and provide benefits in a reasonably prompt manner.
If an insurance company fails to accept a valid claim for benefits, unreasonably delays making a coverage determination, or unreasonably delays or denies your workers’ compensation benefits, the insurance company may have acted in bad faith and you may be entitled to damages.
Schott Mauss & Associates will evaluate your case and determine whether you have a viable claim against your insurer.
Our workers’ comp lawyers will represent you in pretrial settlement negotiations and/or in state and federal court, as needed.
About the Workers’ Compensation Attorneys at Schott Mauss & Associates
Schott Mauss & Associates, PLLC, is an Iowa law firm helping Iowans obtain benefits from injuries suffered on the job or who have been denied Social Security Disability Benefits or Veteran’s Disability Benefits.
THE FIVE BEST REASONS TO CHOOSE SCHOTT MAUSS & ASSOCIATES
1) We handle your case while you rebuild your life.
At Schott Mauss & Associates, we believe that when you are disabled or injured at work, the last thing you need is additional frustration. It is our job to make your case as strong as it can be. Our workers’ compensation attorneys handle the forms, meet the deadlines, and argue your case before the judge.
2) You pay no legal fees unless you win.
When you hire Schott Mauss & Associates, you never pay attorney fees unless you win. Whether you choose to accept a workers’ compensation settlement or want us to take your case to court, we will never ask you to pay legal fees until you’ve successfully won benefits.
3) We stand beside you and fight for your rights.
Schott Mauss & Associates work ONLY for people who have been injured, wrongly denied benefits, or who are unable to work due to a disability. We NEVER represent insurance companies, employers, or government agencies. We’re your trusted source for workman’s comp representation.
4) We represent you through your entire case.
Many non-attorneys offer to represent you at the administrative levels of your case, but if your case needs to be appealed into district court, they cannot help you. Only a workers’ comp lawyer can represent you in court. Our workers’ compensation attorneys regularly represent clients in state, federal, and administrative courts.
5) We are Iowa attorneys helping Iowans.
Founded in Des Moines in 1997, Schott Mauss & Associates uses our knowledge and experience to help Iowans like you. It is easy to call or visit our offices when you need to speak to your attorney about your workman’s compensation settlement or court case. Because we focus on Iowa, we know and regularly work with the government employees and the judges who are most likely to rule on your case.
THE FIVE BEST REASONS TO CHOOSE SCHOTT MAUSS & ASSOCIATES
Get to know the attorneys who will fight for your work injury compensation. Each of our lawyers has years of experience getting clients the maximum amount* in their workers’ compensation settlement, and we’ll proudly fight for restitution in and out of the courtroom.
James Neal
Partner & Attorney
Matt Milligan
Partner & Attorney
Schedule Your Free Initial Consultation Today
Get the workers’ compensation settlement you deserve with the help of Schott Mauss & Associates. Our workers’ compensation attorneys are ready to represent you throughout the process and will fight for your rights to get you a fair workman’s comp settlement, or we’ll take your case in front of a judge if necessary to ensure you’re adequately compensated for your workplace injury.