A worker who is injured on the job in most cases is entitled to be compensated for his or her injury regardless of how the injury happened. The law says that the employer/insurance company gets to choose the medical providers to treat the injury but has to pay for this treatment. If because of the injury, the worker must be off work, the employer is obligated by law to pay the worker a certain percentage of his average wage. The amount the employer must pay is subject to caps imposed by Missouri Law. Because to some extent your body has been affected by the injury, in most cases, you will be entitled to a “lump sum settlement” or award to compensate you for that injury to your body. This “lump sum” is in addition to any medical benefits or payments for being off work that you have received. It is this entitlement to the “lump sum” money that the employer or its insurance company usually does not want to pay. Generally, the company or its insurer tries most vigorously to either be as cheap and unfair to the worker as possible or to avoid paying the worker the “lump sum” money altogether. Some employers will even suggest to the employee that the employee is being less than a good employee if the employee insists on collecting what is due him or her under the law. Rubbish! As compared with the laws of most other states, Missouri Worker’s Compensation Law gives the employer/insurance company better treatment that it does the worker. A lawyer knowledgeable and skilled in handling worker’s compensation claims can make sure that you are treated fairly at all phases of the worker’s compensation process. James Law Group, LLC has that lawyer on staff. Our fees are based on the percentage of the “lump sum” recovery. If there is no recovery, the client pays neither attorney fees nor expenses.