What Happens During Your Free Workers’ Comp Evaluation?

What Happens During Your Free Workers’ Comp Evaluation?

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What happens, exactly, after you fill out and submit a free workers’ comp evaluation form online? And why do we ask just a few short questions before you can enter your contact information? We’ll walk you through every step below so you know exactly what to expect and why those answers matter for your claim.



Step-by-Step Guide to Our Free Workers’ Comp Evaluation Process

Step 1: We Ask Certain Questions to Ensure You Qualify for Legal Assistance

These include things like when your workplace injury happened and if you needed time off work to recover. Here’s why we ask you those questions:

  1. The deadline for filing a workers’ comp claim is different in every U.S. state. This is the “statute of limitations.” In most states, it’s 2 years from your accident date. If you’re past this filing deadline, then you cannot qualify for legal assistance with your claim. In fact, once once that deadline to file a claim expires, no court can legally award you workers’ comp benefits. This is why we need to know the approximate date you got hurt doing your job.
  2. Every state also has a specific “waiting period” before you can qualify for paid time off/lost-wage benefits. In most cases, you must miss 3-7 work shifts due to an on-the-job injury before you qualify for those payments. If you need less than a week off to recover, workers’ comp only pays your medical bills.
  3. If another lawyer is helping you with your claim, then we cannot complete your free workers’ comp evaluation. This is because you signed a contract with your current attorney to retain their legal services. Lawyers aren’t willing to break legally binding contracts to provide a free workers’ comp evaluation. And if you fire your current lawyer to hire a new one, both attorneys must split your case’s legal fees.
  4. You describe how your injury or illness happened. We ask for this information because your injury or illness must be work-related to qualify for benefits. For example: Let’s say you got rear-ended while driving a company car, and now, you have whiplash. However, your injury may not necessarily qualify for workers’ comp benefits.

Step 2: Provide Your Name, Location, and a Phone Number You Can Answer on Weekdays

This information is always required to complete your free workers’ comp evaluation. Why? Because an attorney will review the answers you submitted in your form online, then call you to discuss your case. We use your current ZIP code to match you with the closest workers’ comp lawyer available to help you immediately. Then, we give your matched attorney your name and telephone number so they can call you during normal business hours. This phone call is a required step to complete your free workers’ comp evaluation. If you refuse to enter valid contact info or answer your phone, then we cannot complete your free claim evaluation.

Step 3: Your Matched Workers’ Comp Lawyer Will Call You During Normal Business Hours

Attorneys in our network will only call you back about your claim Monday through Friday, typically before 5 p.m. If you submit your free workers’ comp evaluation form online at night, on weekends or holidays, please be patient! It might be a day or two before your phone rings. Since you can’t always keep your phone handy, we’ll also email you your matched attorney’s contact information. This includes things like your matched attorney’s name, office location, phone number, and email address. (Don’t see the email from us in your inbox? Be sure to check your spam and junk folders, just in case!). That way can call the attorney yourself and leave a message explaining when you’re available to talk, if needed.

Step 4: That Matched Attorney Completes Your Free Workers’ Comp Evaluation

During your first phone call with the matched attorney, be sure to mention any important facts about your claim. For example: Did your employer’s insurer deny you workers’ compensation, so now, you wish to appeal? Or do you have preexisting conditions that make securing the benefits you need harder to get? Your matched lawyer needs to know critical info like this before agreeing to take on your claim. It’s also a good opportunity for you to ask any questions you have about the workers’ comp evaluation process.

Finally, your matched attorney may schedule an in-person appointment to review any evidence you have that supports your case.

Important: All attorneys that we can match you with for a free workers’ comp evaluation work on contingency. That means if you don’t win a cash settlement, then you owe $0 to the lawyer who’s helping you. In most states, attorneys charge 15% contingency fees, on average. Only one state makes it legal to charge as much as 20%, and that’s Texas.

Step 5: You Decide What to Do After Your Workers’ Comp Evaluation Ends

Our free, no-obligation workers’ comp evaluation does exactly what we promise and nothing else. That means we match you with an attorney who evaluates your case for free using only the info you provided. Once that happens, deciding whether to move forward or use that same attorney is 100% up to you. Don’t want to file a claim at all after you speak with an attorney? No problem! Want to use a different lawyer than the one who called to complete your free workers’ comp evaluation? That’s okay, too. Only you can decide how and whether to move forward with your case.

Since 2012, hundreds of thousands of people have completed a free workers’ comp evaluation through our website. We have never charged any money for this service and never will.

What Happens if Your Workers’ Comp Evaluation Says You Don’t Qualify for Help?

We can only match you with workers’ compensation attorneys who pay to join our nationwide network. So, there’s always chance we don’t have anyone nearby who can complete your workers’ comp evaluation for free. And if you already have a workman’s comp lawyer, then unfortunately, we can’t help you with your case.

If you suspect a workplace safety violation led to your injury, report it to the proper authorities. You can do this online at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) website or call 1-800-321-OSHA. You can also file a whistleblower complaint if you believe your employer illegally fired you for requesting workers’ comp benefits.

Ready to see if you may qualify for legal assistance? Then click the button below to start your free workers’ comp evaluation online now:

Get Your Free Benefits Evaluation

Lori Polemenakos is Director of Consumer Content and SEO strategist for LeadingResponse, a legal marketing company. An award-winning journalist, writer and editor based in Dallas, Texas, she's produced articles for major brands such as Match.com, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Xfinity, Mail.com, and edited several published books. Since 2016, she's published hundreds of articles about Social Security disability, workers' compensation, veterans' benefits, personal injury, mass tort, auto accident claims, bankruptcy, employment law and other related legal issues.