Roanoke Workers’ Compensation Attorney – Get the Benefits You Deserve After a Work Injury

 

Corey Pollard Law: Your Trusted Workers’ Comp Lawyer for Roanoke 

 

When you suffer an injury at work in Roanoke, Virginia, an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer who understands both the local landscape and the complexities of Virginia’s workers’ comp laws can help you get the benefits you deserve.

 

The injury attorneys at my law firm, Corey Pollard Law, have recovered more than $75 million in workers’ compensation settlements for hurt employees and have helped thousands more injured workers throughout Virginia get the benefits they deserve.

 

Whether you were hurt at Carilion Clinic, Norfolk Southern, Advance Auto Parts, or any other Roanoke employer, you have rights under Virginia law. Don’t let insurance companies minimize your claim or deny you the medical care you need.

 

Call (804) 251-1620 today for a free consultation with a top-rated Roanoke workers’ compensation lawyer.

 

 

Why Roanoke Workers Choose Corey Pollard

 

Proven Results for Injured Workers

 

Our Virginia workers’ compensation attorneys have achieved some of the state’s largest recoveries:

 

• • $4.5 Million+ for a logger with spinal cord injury
  • $4.25 Million+ for a trucker with traumatic brain injury
  • $1.2 Million+ for a roofer with a fractured lumbar spine
  • $1 Million+ for a laborer requiring arm amputation
  • $845,000+ for a truck driver with a head injury and burns

 

Deep Understanding of Roanoke’s Workforce

 

Roanoke’s economy spans healthcare, manufacturing, education, transportation, and logistics.

 

We represent injured workers in every sector, including:

 

Healthcare Workers – As one of the region’s largest private employers, Carilion Clinic employs over 13,000 people. We frequently handle cases involving nursing injuries, lifting injuries, and healthcare worker accidents at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital and other affiliated medical facilities.

 

Manufacturing and Industrial Workers – From Altec Industries to MW Windows and Doors, Roanoke’s manufacturing sector employs thousands. We’ve successfully handled claims arising from machinery accidents and workplace chemical exposures.

 

Transportation Workers – Roanoke is a transportation hub for southwestern Virginia. With Norfolk Southern’s significant presence and ongoing logistics operations, plus Amazon, FedEx, and UPS workers in the area, we understand the unique challenges facing transportation employees and truck drivers, from lifting injuries to vehicle accidents.

 

Retail and Service Workers – Whether you work at Walmart, Kroger, Food Lion, or other retail employers, slip-and-fall accidents and overexertion injuries are common workplace hazards we help employees with.

 

Construction Workers – Construction accidents involving cranes, forklifts, and falls are some of the most catastrophic workplace injuries we handle in Roanoke and the surrounding areas.

 

Common Workplace Injuries in Roanoke

 

Back and Spine Injuries

 

Annual data shows that back injuries are consistently the #1 cause of workers’ comp claims in Virginia and other states. From nurses injured while lifting patients at Carilion, to warehouse workers at Amazon or UPS, to construction workers, back and spinal injuries can require immediate medical attention and cause permanent disability.

 

Common spine injuries our Roanoke workers’ comp attorneys handle and win include the following:

 

• • Herniated discs
  • Degenerative disc disease (DDD) aggravated or exacerbated by a work-related lumbar strain or sprain
  • Lumbar disc fractures (for example, burst fractures)
  • Spinal cord damage resulting in paralysis

 

Construction Accidents

 

Working in construction is tough anywhere.

 

And Roanoke’s ongoing development and construction projects create significant risks for workers. We have negotiated top-dollar settlements in occupational injury cases involving:

 

• • Falls from heights
  • Crane accidents and tip-overs
  • Forklift crashes
  • Electrocution
  • Struck-by accidents
  • Caught-in machinery

 

Transportation Accidents

 

As a transportation hub with major roadways such as Interstate 81, Interstate 581, U.S. Route 220, and State Route 419 (Electric Road), truck drivers and delivery van workers face unique risks doing their job in Roanoke:

 

• • Commercial vehicle crashes
  • Loading dock accidents
  • Slips and falls while making deliveries
  • Highway work zone accidents

 

Understanding Virginia Workers’ Compensation Benefits

 

Several types of workers comp benefits are available once you prove the Workers Compensation Act covers your injury or illness.

 

Medical Treatment

 

Your employer must pay for medical care for your work-related injury, free of charge. This lifetime medical benefit means you pay nothing for the following type of treatment, not even co-pays, as long as it is reasonable, necessary, and related to your covered occupational injury or illness:

 

• • Emergency room visits
  • Doctor appointments
  • Surgery and hospitalization
  • Physical therapy and rehabilitation
  • Chiropractor care
  • Prescription medications
  • Medical equipment and devices

 

Wage Loss Benefits

 

If you cannot return to your pre-injury job because of the injury or illness, you may receive:

 

• • Temporary Total Disability (TTD) – Weekly payments when you cannot work at all or cannot return to your regular job but look for new employment within your restrictions. This requirement is called “marketing.”
  • Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) – Payments when you can work limited hours or light duty
  • Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) – Compensation for the permanent loss of use of the body part. The PPD amount depends on the permanent impairment rating you receive after reaching maximum medical improvement (MMI).
  • Permanent Total Disability (PTD) – Lifetime benefits for injuries that prevent you from returning to any employment. PTD benefits are often limited to cases where a person is paralyzed or has had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) with a significant period of loss of consciousness.

 

Vocational Rehabilitation

 

When work restrictions prevent you from returning to your previous job, vocational rehabilitation may help you retrain for new employment. Vocational rehab services may include interview preparation, resume review, or paying for college courses or special job certifications.

 

Medical Providers for Workers’ Comp Patients in Roanoke

 

Several healthcare facilities and doctors treat injured workers in Roanoke.

 

Before choosing an urgent care center or a specialist (orthopedic surgeon, neurologist, etc.) from the panel of doctors offered by the employer and insurer, speak with a Roanoke workers’ compensation lawyer.

 

We are familiar with many of the physicians in the area. We can help you choose the one most likely to provide high-quality medical treatment and to assist with causation and disability issues that arise during workers comp litigation.

 

Workers’ Compensation Hearings in Roanoke

 

You will have to present your case at trial if you do not negotiate a settlement or receive an award letter from the employer.

 

In Virginia, workers’ comp trials are called hearings.

 

The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission has a regional office in Roanoke, located at 3800 Electric Road, Suite 200, Roanoke, VA 24018.

 

Two deputy commissioners hear cases here: Robert M. Himmel, a former defense attorney, and Linda Slough, who represented injured workers when in private practice.

 

Our law firm has handled both settlement mediations and hearings before these deputy commissioners, and we can tailor your case to these judges’ courtroom and mediation styles.

 

Industries Whose Injured Employees We Serve in the Roanoke Valley

 

Although some occupations are more prone to work injuries because of the nature of the job, a workplace injury can happen to anyone.

 

Our Roanoke workers’ comp lawyers are available to represent employees in these fields.

 

Healthcare

 

Major Employers: Carilion Clinic, LewisGale Medical Center, VA Medical Center

 

Unique occupational risks to healthcare employees include back and shoulder injuries when lifting patients, needle sticks, and exposure to infectious diseases. Learn more about workers’ compensation for nurses here. 

 

Manufacturing and Heavy Industry

 

Major Employers: Altec Industries, MW Windows and Doors, Menasha Corporation

 

We routinely see these injuries at manufacturing facilities and warehouses:

 

• • Amputations, crush injuries, and burns from machinery
  • Chemical exposure
  • Hearing loss

 

Education

 

Major Employers: Roanoke City Schools, Roanoke County Schools, Virginia Western Community College

 

Our lawyers have resolved school employee cases involving workplace violence (especially when working with special needs children), lifting injuries, and slip/trip and falls.

 

Retail and Service

 

Major Employers: Walmart, Kroger, Food Lion, Advance Auto Parts

 

In addition to dealing with customers, retail employees often have to complete physically demanding tasks.

 

The Workers’ Compensation Process in Virginia

 

This section provides a brief overview of the workers’ comp process for injured employees in Roanoke. But you can get a more complete overview of the workers’ comp claim process here (with a flow chart).

 

Additionally, I provide answers to more than 200 frequently asked questions about Virginia workers’ comp here.

 

Step 1: Report Your Injury

 

You should tell the employer how you were hurt immediately after the incident.

 

But at a minimum, you must give written notice within 30 days. Otherwise, the employer has a potential untimely notice defense.

 

Step 2: Get Medical Treatment

 

Your employer should give you a panel of approved physicians. Choose carefully, as this decision significantly impacts your claim.

 

If the employer doesn’t give you a panel, you can treat with whatever doctor you choose.

 

Step 3: File the Claim with the Workers’ Compensation Commission

 

Telling your employer about the injury is step one.

 

You must also file a formal claim with the Workers’ Compensation Commission and provide supporting medical documentation.

 

Learn more about how to file a Virginia workers’ compensation claim here.

 

Step 4: Insurance Company Investigation and Discovery Phase

 

The employer and its insurance company will investigate your claim. They may accept, deny, or dispute various aspects of your case.

 

The employer may dispute some or all of your claim. In that case, you can use the workers’ comp discovery process to narrow the employer’s defenses and obtain evidence.

 

Step 5: Hearing

 

If the parties do not negotiate a settlement and a dispute remains, you will present your case at trial before one of the deputy commissioners mentioned above.

 

When to Call a Roanoke Workers Compensation Lawyer

 

You should talk to a lawyer about your work injury, no matter what, especially since most of the top attorneys will handle cases on a contingency, meaning you pay nothing unless you recover benefits.

 

Some of you may hear this but still want to handle your case without a lawyer. You’re allowed to. But we recommend that you reconsider that choice if your case involves one or more of the following:

 

• • Your employer denies that your injury is work-related
  • The insurer refuses to pay benefits unless you give a recorded statement.
  • The employer applies to stop benefits when you already have an award order.
  • You cannot receive appropriate medical care.
  • The employer delays authorizing medical treatment prescribed by your panel physician.
  • The employer fires you for filing the claim.
  • Your injury requires surgery.
  • You receive permanent restrictions for the work injury.
  • You have a pre-existing condition or history of workers’ comp claims that make it more likely the employer will deny your claim.
  • Someone else’s negligence caused the work incident, meaning you may have a viable third-party civil action.
  • The employer asks you to attend an independent medical examination (IME).
  • You receive a letter from a vocational rehabilitation counselor.

 

Settlement Negotiations

 

A workers’ comp adjuster may call you with a low settlement offer. Don’t jump at the first offer.

 

Instead, talk with a skilled Roanoke workers’ compensation lawyer who will:

 

• • Calculate the full value of your claim
  • Determine the right time to settle your claim
  • Negotiate a fair amount with terms

 

How Corey Pollard Law Maximizes Your Workers’ Compensation Claim

 

Past clients and current attorneys have voted us one of the state’s best workers comp lawyers for a reason: We know what we are doing.

 

When you hire our firm to handle your case, we will gather evidence, work with your medical providers to help you get appropriate medical treatment and documented work restrictions, deal with the insurer and Commission on your behalf, and evaluate the facts for potential personal injury claims or entitlement to Social Security disability.

 

Contact Corey Pollard Law – Your Roanoke Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

 

Don’t let a work injury derail your life and livelihood.

 

Call (804) 251-1620 or complete our online contact form to schedule your free consultation to see if we will accept representation.

 

Available to serve injured employees in:

 

• • Roanoke, Virginia
  • Salem, Virginia
  • Roanoke County
  • Botetourt County
  • Franklin County
  • Bedford County
  • And the surrounding areas in Southwest Virginia