Athens, TN Workers' Compensation Lawyers
Experienced representation for workers injured in McMinn County
Athens, Tennessee is a manufacturing town that serves McMinn County. Employers in Athens, TN also provide jobs in retail, medical services, professional services, community services, and other job sectors. Every day, workers risk severe injuries that can prevent them from returning to work for months, years, or forever.
At Wagner Workers Compensation & Personal Injury Lawyers, we have more than 80 years of experience helping injured workers and workers who suffer occupational illnesses obtain the health and wage benefits they deserve. We’ll explain how the claims process works, including when and where you need to file your claim.
Our McMinn County work injury attorneys will contest any efforts by your employer to deny your claim or limit your benefits. Call us if you cannot work because of a work-related injury or illness, or if a family member died because of a work-related injury or illness.
How we can help
- Can I file for workers’ compensation benefits in Tennessee?
- What types of jobs in Athens, TN, cause injuries?
- What are the common types of workplace accidents that cause injuries?
- What types of workplace injuries do you handle in McMinn County?
- When can I file an occupational illness claim in Athens, TN?
- Does workers’ compensation pay my medical bills and lost wages?
- Why do workers choose your Athens, TN workers’ compensation lawyers?
- What is the 15-day notice requirement for notifying an employer in Tennessee work injury claims?
- Can I choose my own doctor?
- Athens, TN workers’ compensation FAQs
- Do you have an Athens, TN workers’ compensation attorney near me?
Can I file for workers’ compensation benefits in Tennessee?
You may seek workers’ compensation benefits if your injury arises primarily out of and in the course and scope of your employment. You do not ordinarily need to prove negligence but must establish the required causal connection between the employment and the injury.
Our Athens, TN work injury lawyers will help you determine your employment status. You may qualify as an employee, even if your employer argues that your job status is an independent contractor.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development states that non-construction employers with five or more employees must secure workers’ compensation coverage, subject to statutory exceptions. Construction and coal-mining employers generally must provide coverage even if they have only one employee. Eligible construction business owners may exempt themselves, but their employees must remain covered.
What types of jobs in Athens, TN, cause injuries?
At Wagner Workers Compensation & Personal Injury Lawyers, we represent workers who suffer a serious workplace injury in any type of job, including workers in:
- Auto jobs
- Chemical jobs
- Construction
- Driving trucks
- Energy
- Farming and agriculture
- Firefighting
- Food manufacturing, restaurants, and other food services
- Healthcare
- Hospitality
- Industrial jobs
- Law enforcement
- Manufacturing
- Pharmaceuticals
- Retail
- Tourism and/or entertainment
Notable employers in Athens, TN
Many McMinn County workers work for the following companies:
- DENSO
- Heil Trailer International, LLC
- E&E Manufacturing
- Mayfield Dairy Farms
Other large employers in the county include Starr Regional Medical Center, McMinn County Schools, and ABB.
Some of the roads that workers take to reach their jobs in and near Athens, TN include Interstate 75, U.S. Highway 11 (Congress Pkwy), and State Routes 30 and 39.
What are the common types of workplace accidents that cause injuries?
The good news is that you do not have to show that your employer was negligent to file a Tennessee workers’ compensation claim.
Knowing why these accidents happen can help prevent future accidents and help you understand the types of injuries you have.
Common types of work accidents include the following:
- Slip, trip, and fall accidents
- Falls from high places, such as scaffolds and ladders
- Falling objects
- Explosions and fires
- Overexertion
- Electrical accidents
- Exposure to unsafe chemicals and toxins
- Being caught between objects
- Being pinned by a machine or equipment
- Accidents involving cranes, trucks, bulldozers, and other work vehicles
- Machine and equipment accidents
- Extreme weather conditions
- Structural failures
What types of workplace injuries do you handle in McMinn County?
Our Athens, TN workers’ compensation attorneys handle all types of workplace injuries, including the following:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and concussions
- Spinal cord damage, including paralysis
- Loss of all or part of a limb
- Fractures
- Burns
- Internal bleeding and organ damage
- Neck and shoulder injuries
- Back pain
- Electric shock and electrical burns
- Soft tissue injuries
- Hearing loss due to excess noise
- Loss of vision
- Nerve damage
- Difficulty breathing and other types of respiratory damage
- Repetitive stress injuries (carpal tunnel syndrome, for example)
When can I file an occupational illness claim in Athens, TN?
An occupational-disease claim may be available when a disease or condition arises principally out of and in the course and scope of employment and satisfies Tennessee’s statutory causation requirements. The condition may result from either cumulative or specific workplace exposure.
Examples of occupational illnesses include:
- Asbestosis
- Mesothelioma
- Silicosis
- Black-lung disease
- Infectious diseases
- Many other illnesses
Does workers’ compensation pay my medical bills and lost wages?
Our McMinn County workers’ compensation lawyers work to obtain all the work injury benefits you deserve, including:
Medical costs
Tennessee workers’ compensation generally pays for authorized medical treatment that is reasonable, necessary, and related to the compensable work injury. Future treatment may remain available for as long as those requirements are met, unless medical rights are lawfully resolved or limited.
You may also be entitled to mileage reimbursement to see your healthcare providers.
Temporary disability benefits
You may receive temporary disability benefits if the authorized treating physician removes you from work or imposes work restrictions that reduce your earnings. Temporary total disability generally equals two-thirds of your average weekly wage (subject to statutory limits and waiting-period rules).
Temporary partial disability generally equals two-thirds of the difference between the employee’s pre-injury average weekly wage and reduced earnings.
Permanent disability benefits
Once you reach the point of maximum medical improvement (additional medical treatments are not expected to improve your health), Tennessee reviews your eligibility for permanent disability benefits based on your injuries and their severity (impairment level).
Permanent partial disability is generally calculated using your compensation rate, impairment rating, and Tennessee’s statutory 450-week value, subject to applicable adjustments and limits. Permanent total disability is governed by separate eligibility and duration rules.
Death benefits
Workers’ compensation pays up to $10,000 in burial expenses. For deaths on or after July 1, 2023, a surviving spouse and/or dependent children generally receive two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly wage, subject to statutory limits.
Other classes of dependents may receive different percentages, and if there are no dependents, $20,000 is paid to the employee’s estate.
Vocational benefits
If you have a compensable permanent partial disability and receive increased benefits because you did not return to work, you may qualify for retraining and education assistance through the Tennessee Next Step Program, subject to funding limits and program eligibility.
Why do workers choose your Athens, TN workers’ compensation lawyers?
Injured workers recommend our Athens work injury lawyers because of our eight decades of experience fighting for injured workers.
At Wagner Workers Compensation & Personal Injury Lawyers, we explain the claims process and fight for all the benefits you deserve.
We help clients by:
- Showing that you qualify for benefits
- Notifying your employer of your claim
- Appealing adverse decisions issued through the Tennessee workers' compensation process
- Building your case by reviewing all your medical care with your medical providers
- Filing a Petition for Benefit Determination
- Representing you at mediation of your claim
- Representing you before the Tennessee workers’ compensation judge in the Court of Workers' Compensation Claims
- Contesting any effort by your employer to deny or limit your claim, such as by arguing that your injuries are due to a pre-existing condition or that your injuries should have healed already
- Appealing an adverse decision by the Tennessee workers' compensation judge
What is the 15-day notice requirement for notifying an employer in Tennessee work injury claims?
Tennessee generally requires that workers provide written notice of an accidental injury within 15 days after the accident. Different triggering rules apply to gradual or cumulative injuries. Occupational diseases generally require written notice within 30 days after their first distinct manifestation, subject to statutory exceptions. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 50-6-201 and 50-6-305.
Our McMinn County workers’ compensation lawyers suggest that you give this notice, in writing, as soon as you can.
The notice should state the employee’s name and address and, in plain language, the time, place, nature, and cause of the accident resulting in injury or death. It must be signed by the claimant or another person authorized by statute.
The employer should promptly report the injury to its insurer. The insurer or self-insured employer generally must determine whether it accepts or denies compensability within 15 calendar days after receiving verbal or written notice.
In most cases, a Petition for Benefit Determination must be filed within the applicable statutory limitations period, generally one year, although certain statutory exceptions may apply. The petition is filed with the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Most covered employers must provide an appropriate panel of physicians within three business days after receiving notice of a work-related injury and a request or need for medical treatment.
The panel (list of doctors) should include three or more physicians who practice in the employee’s community. The employee can then select the doctor from the panel form to serve as the “authorized treating physician.”
Injured workers can normally obtain emergency treatment before choosing from the panel.
The authorized treating physician may refer the employee to a specialist. The employer is deemed to accept the referral unless, within three business days, it provides a panel of three or more qualified specialists or specialty groups. The referred or selected specialist becomes the treating physician while specialist care continues.
Athens, TN workers’ compensation FAQs
Do you have an Athens, TN workers’ compensation attorney near me?
Our lawyers meet clients who live or work in or near Athens at our Chattanooga, TN office – located at 701 Market Street, Suite 310. We also conduct consultations by phone and online platforms like Zoom and FaceTime.
Call us now if you were hurt at work in an Athens plant or worksite
At Wagner Workers Compensation & Personal Injury Lawyers, we can prepare you for each stage of your claim. Our McMinn County workers’ compensation lawyers will fight to restore your health and your finances. To schedule a free consultation, call us or fill out our contact form. We represent work injury clients on a contingency fee basis.
We also serve clients in Chattanooga and Athens, Tennessee, and Calhoun and Dalton, Georgia.