Winchester Workers’ Compensation- Video Transcription
Hi! My name is Bob Guntharp. I am attorney with the Ritchie Law Firm in
Winchester, Virginia. I practice workers’ compensation law.
It is interesting as we are making our way through this terrible COVID-19
pandemic that we’ve learned that the truly essential people in our society are the
working folks out there – the people who are driving the trucks, working in the
warehouses, working in the supermarkets, trades folks, electricians, the
plumbers, the people that we really need. These are our essential people. And,
they are the same people that because of the nature of their jobs that frequently
are injured on the job.
Insurance companies have armies of attorneys and claims adjusters to protect
their interests. Working folks need that same type of protecting. And, at the
Ritchie Law Firm, for more than 45 years we’ve offered that. We’re also going to
be offering a webinar that gives you the basics of workers’ compensation law. It
will be a short one – 20 to 30 minutes – but it will walk you through things and
will give you an idea of how to protect yourself.
Words matter . . . how you explain your injury and how you explain how the
accident happened can make all the difference in the world in whether or not you
are entitled to worker’s compensation benefits. The insurance company, often
through their adjusters, will take a recorded statement from you. You should talk
to an attorney before you do that. And, you should certainly watch our webinar
so you have an idea of what is important, what isn’t, and the traps that are out
there.
It’s also important to understand that once you are on workers’ compensation
that if you are released to light-duty work and if your employer cannot
accommodate you with light-duty, that you have to go through something called
marketing. This is basically job searches that are required under the law. You
have to make 5 contacts a week, and you have to register with the Virginia Employment Commission. If you don’t do that, you won’t be able to recover any back benefits that you’ve had.
The insurance company is not going to tell you about that. But, it’s important that
you know it.
So, I encourage you to keep an eye out for our upcoming webinar. We’ll go into
much greater detail and walk you through the basics of workers’ compensation
law, so you’ll have the ability to protect yourself. Keep an eye out for that.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call at the
Ritchie Law Firm. I’m sure we’ll be able to give you some useful information.
And, perhaps we’ll be able to take your case and help you with it. We look
forward to hearing from you. Please keep an eye out for that webinar. Take care.
