Top Ways to Hire a Best Workplace Injury Lawyer in Michigan
Legally Reviewed and Edited by: Terry Cochran

You may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits if you become sick or injured on the job. Following a wrongful death in the workplace, the injured workers’ families can pursue workers’ compensation. However, injured employees and their families are left to navigate a complicated legal system even when their workers’ compensation claims are legitimate.
A workers’ compensation lawyer will collect medical evidence to support your claim, speak with your insurance company on your behalf, and help negotiate a settlement. By doing so, you maintain your right to workers’ compensation benefits, ensure you’re getting the proper settlement, and focus on your recovery when you hire a workplace injury lawyer.
When Can You Handle a Workers’ Compensation Claim Independently
If your injuries were mild, but you qualify for workers’ compensation, you may be able to proceed with filing the claim yourself. These would be the following scenarios that you may not need a lawyer:
- A minor injury occurred at work, such as a sprained ankle
- Your employer acknowledges that the injury happened at work
- You missed little to no work due to your injury
- The injury that occurred at work does not affect the same part of your body from a previous accident, such as a leg injury from a slip-and-fall accident
How Do You Know if You Need a Lawyer?
If you are dealing with a more complex workplace injury situation, you may need to hire a workplace injury lawyer to ensure you receive all the benefits to which you are entitled and compensation for lost wages.
The severity of an injury and the possibility of its permanence are factors used to determine a worker’s compensation claim in Michigan. Michigan’s workers’ compensation law allows a person who returns to work in a limited capacity can receive 80% of their weekly wages. As another example, someone who has a permanent disability may never return to work fully again. Workers’ compensation can include medical expenses for medical treatments, ongoing medical care, death benefits, and funeral costs.
As part of Michigan’s workers’ compensation, you may be eligible for other benefits, such as:
Medical Benefits
If necessary for treating your injury or illness, workers’ compensation will cover any critical medical care, including medical rehabilitation. In the event of a permanent disability, workers’ compensation covers medical assistive devices such as wheelchairs and any housing modifications. For the first 28 days of your treatment, your employer has a legal right to choose your doctor. After the first 28 days, you may continue your medical care with a doctor of your choice.
Vocational Rehabilitation
Vocational benefits can help retrain workers if they cannot return to the work in which they have experience. These benefits may include job placement assistance, guidance on starting your own business, and retraining support.
Death Benefits and Burial Expenses
If an employee dies due to a work-related injury or illness, surviving dependents are eligible for death benefits for up to 500 weeks (more if minor dependent children are still alive at the time of death). The amount is based on an average of 80% of the worker’s pre-injury, after-tax, average weekly pay, with a minimum and maximum. As part of the compensation, a family may also be reimbursed for funeral and burial costs of up to $6,000.
Ways to Hire The Best Workplace Injury Lawyer in Michigan
The task of hiring the right workplace injury lawyer in Michigan can be challenging since you want to ensure the attorney knows how to handle your case type. You can find a trustworthy lawyer in several ways.
Ask for Referrals
Ask your friends, family members, or colleagues who have dealt with personal injury cases and used attorneys who were attentive and reputable. If your friends or family members won their cases, ask them for referrals to their lawyers.
Research Online
Use the internet to learn more about workers’ compensation attorneys. You can check an attorney’s conduct history on the state bar website. The Michigan Bar website provides a list of law firms, attorneys, and their disciplinary histories.
Explore the websites of numerous law firms online. Find out more about whether a law firm can help you by looking at their case types. Critically consider what other people have to say about their experience with the firm through reviews and testimonials.
Contact the law firm through their website or call their office for more information to get a sense of how they treat their clients. The level of customer service and responsiveness they provide upfront can be indicative of the client experience they provide.
Set Up a Consultation
Once you have a shortlist of potential attorneys, set up meetings with one to five of them who have demonstrated success in the past. Many law firms offer free consultations, so it’s a good idea to check out several lawyers before you decide on one.
Having a workplace injury lawyer you trust and hold in high regard will significantly benefit both of you. Ask questions to find out if you have a workers’ compensation case and if you can pursue workers’ compensation benefits.
When you sit down for your no-obligation consultation, come prepared with questions you may have about fees related to your case, how much compensation you can expect to receive, and what documents you need to gather. These questions may also be helpful to ask a workplace injury lawyer during an initial meeting or call:
- Do you have any experience handling workplace injuries?
- Would you deal directly with my employer and the insurance company?
- Can you tell me how successful you are in handling workers’ compensation claims?
- How often do workers’ compensation claims go to a hearing or trial?
Take note of how you feel throughout the meeting. It is essential to hire someone with extensive experience in personal injury law, but their attitude and personability are also critical factors. Trust your gut instincts and initial impressions during your meeting. Dealing with a workers’ compensation claim and workplace injury is a stressful affair, so working with the right lawyer is essential to reducing the pressure on you, allowing you to focus on your recovery.
Legal Help is Only a Phone Call Away
An injury or sickness from the workplace is difficult enough, let alone navigating various issues and complications from filing workers’ compensation claims. Obstacles from your employer or insurance company can get in the way of filing your claim. Financial pressures and uncertainty can lead many people to continue living their lives without the medical assistance and legal guidance needed to recover fully. There could be other delays, such as not receiving your benefits checks on time.
The law offices of Cochran, Kroll, and Associates, P.C. can answer your questions, give you legal advice, and help you understand the process of filing your workers’ compensation claim. We are here to protect your rights and get the compensation you deserve so you and your family can live a better quality of life.
As a law firm with experienced workplace compensation and personal injury lawyers, we are the choice for any injured worker in Michigan having issues with their worker’s compensation claims and benefits. Call us at 1-866-MICH-LAW for a free consultation if you suffered an injury in the workplace.
Disclaimer : The information provided is general and not for legal advice. The blogs are not intended to provide legal counsel and no attorney-client relationship is created nor intended.