You have the right to consult with a lawyer, or have a lawyer represent you, at any step in the process. Here are some situations in which a lawyer may be needed:

• You report your injury to your employer but they refuse to report the injury to their insurance company or to the Division of Workers’ Compensation
• Your employer or the insurance company will not tell you which doctor to see for treatment
• Your employer wants to pay for your medical treatment through their health insurance plan rather than through their workers’ compensation insurance
• The insurance company is denying your case
• You are not getting the medical care you believe you need
• The insurance company’s doctor releases you, but you are not fully recovered from the injury
• The insurance company hires someone to monitor your progress and attend your doctor’s appointments
• Tests or surgery ordered by the authorized treating physician are denied or canceled
• You are not getting weekly benefit checks while the doctor says you cannot work
• The insurance company won’t talk with you
• The insurance company is claiming a penalty for a safety violation or for use of drugs or alcohol
• You feel intimidated by the process, or you feel you are being treated unfairly
• You are confused about how to proceed
• You have been fired, demoted or harassed at work because of your work injury, or because you are asserting your workers’ compensation rights
• You have applied for, or are receiving social security disability benefits
• You have qualified for Medicare, or you may qualify for Medicare within the next five years
• Mo HealthNet or Medicaid has paid for your medical bills
• You believe you are permanently and totally disabled, that is, you believe that you cannot work at any job
• Your employer did not have workers’ compensation insurance coverage at the time of the injury
• Your medical bills are not being paid, even though you have only gone to medical care providers authorized by your employer or the workers’ compensation insurance company
• If your case has not settled within a year from the time you were injured
• If you feel uncomfortable proceeding with your case without consulting a lawyer first

A lawyer is almost always needed, when:

• The case cannot be resolved by settlement and must be resolved by an evidentiary hearing (trial)
• The workers’ compensation insurance company strongly advises you to get a lawyer
• An administrative law judge strongly advises you to get a lawyer