Trinity Personal Injury Lawyer

Reach out to us now to learn more about workers’ comp and Social Security Disability benefits.

Simple values and hard work are very important to the people in this New Port Richey suburb. The community formed around a Bible college that relocated to this site in the 1980s. Many Trinity residents are directly or indirectly connected to this college. They work at it, attend it, or know someone who works or attends there. Trinity also has a very low poverty rate. Most residents work in Trinity or Pinellas, West Pasco, or Hillsborough County. Trinity essentially straddles these three counties.

Hard-working people risk serious injury, both at work and on the road to and from work. When such a serious injury strikes your family, the diligent Trinity personal injury lawyers at the Rooth Law Firm spring into action. We quickly evaluate your case and determine your legal options. Next, we collect evidence that supports your liability and damages claims. Then, when the case goes to court, we never stop fighting for you.

Workers’ Compensation

Until recently, the Florida workers’ compensation system was very simple. Injury victims filed claims, and then injury victims cashed checks. Most victims didn’t need legal representation, and quite frankly, a Trinity personal injury lawyer generally just got in the way.

The system is much different today. Over the last several years, workers’ compensation insurance rates have decreased by over 70%. The stunning drop has affected job injury claims, and the need for legal representation, in several ways.

Since there’s less money to go around, insurance company lawyers now aggressively use workers’ compensation defenses to reduce or deny benefits to injured workers. These defenses include:

• Alcohol/Drug Use: Workers’ comp benefits are unavailable if the victim was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident. Most companies test injured workers several hours, or several days, after their accidents. So, the results are deceptive.
• Not Work-Related: This defense is very common in hearing loss, repetitive stress disorder, and other occupational disease claims. Most people hear loud noises at home as well as at work. A Trinity personal injury lawyer can obtain maximum lost wage replacement benefits if a job injury aggravated a non-work or pre-existing condition, as opposed to the other way around.
• Horseplay: Benefits are unavailable if the victim was injured while playing around at work. However, the horseplay must be completely unrelated to the job. If Mike and Sarah race each other to clean their areas faster, an injury is not horseplay because their “game" was work-related.

Most job injury victims receive two-thirds of their AWW (average weekly wage) for the duration of their permanent or temporary disabilities.

Insurance adjusters often use the “reasonably necessary” requirement to deny medical bill coverage. To an insurance adjuster, “reasonably necessary” usually means “cheapest available.”

Furthermore, most adjusters use boilerplate charts and tables to determine the amount of medical bills. This method ignores the obvious fact that not all injuries and not all people are the same.

Social Security Disability

Workers’ compensation benefits are available in permanent or temporary disability situations. SSD is available for permanent disabilities (a terminal condition or a condition expected to last at least a year).

Similar life-changing benefits are available. SSD pays monthly cash, and recipients are automatically entitled to Medicare.

The two procedures are similar in other ways as well. For example, the SSD and workers’ comp claim processes are often lengthy. Initial denials are very common. So, a Trinity personal injury lawyer must appeal the matter to an Administrative Law Judge. Most applicants must wait at least six months for a day in court.

The long wait isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Attorneys have time to build their cases. Furthermore, attorneys have time to negotiate favorable out-of-court settlements. In fact, almost all SSD and workers’ compensation claims have settled out of court.

Count on a Dedicated Trinity Personal Injury Lawyer

Victims need and deserve compensation for their injuries. For a free consultation with a board-certified workers’ compensation lawyer in Trinity, contact the Rooth Law Firm. Virtual, home, and hospital visits are available.