CHASENBOSCOLO personal injury attorney Archives

One of the first things that I learned as a trial lawyer is that I should be educating, advising and litigating for my client. For that to happen, I need to know the same things that we were all taught as young children. What happened? When did it happen? Where did it happen? Who knows what happened? Why did it happen? And most importantly, what do you expect me to do for you? So with that, let’s explore all the areas of law that a work injury can spread to.

The Worst Day of Your Life

As part of your work day, you are asked by your branch manager to drive from your Dupont Circle worksite to the Vienna, Virginia, office to cover for a sick colleague. As you discuss this with your boss, you let her know that you have a conference call with the Atlanta office at 1 p.m. She tells you no worries; you should attend by telephone on your way to Vienna. That sounds like a plan, and before you leave, you check in with your significant other who is on their way to a job interview since they have been out of work for the last six months. Oh, and you send a text to your son that you will watch his game on Game Changer, since there will be no way you will make it back home to Maryland in time for his game. Just another day in your life, and it can’t end soon enough, you think to yourself. However, somewhere west of Falls Church, Virginia, while relaying the data to the Atlanta office, something happens. The next thing you see is your significant other holding your hand in the hospital. You are told that you are lucky to be alive because your car looks like an accordion. The tractor trailer that crashed into your car also hit another car, and that driver was not so lucky. As you try to piece this together, you notice the pins and rods sticking out of your ankle, and your back and head are throbbing with pain. You ask your significant other, what are we going to do? Unfortunately, this kind of day plays out all too frequently. As a trial lawyer, my sole goal is to try to help you put your life together again through the use of the laws that exist to protect you and everyone when this happens. So, let’s begin.

Let’s examine what happened to you. We know from the discussions at the hospital that you were involved in a vehicle crash and that your injuries were caused by that crash. There are many ways to investigate how this crash happened. We can examine the police report, the first responders’ notes and the hospital records for x-rays taken of body parts that you might not know are injured. These are just some of the initial steps I take to make sure I have a basic understanding as to how your life was changed that day.

Let’s examine when it happened to you. We know from the arrival of the first responders that your life was changed at 1:32 p.m. We know from the examination of your phone records that you were on a work call to Atlanta at the time of the crash. We know from your car data, as well as the surrounding road cameras, that you were not speeding and did not leave your lane. We also know from the letters we sent out to the company of the truck driver that they cannot dispose of the phone records or other communications that may have been taking place at the time of the crash or it will be held against them later.

Let’s examined where it happened. We know from the road cameras, towing reports, police reports and reconstruction reports (as you recall, the other car driver was not so lucky) and hospital reports that the crash happened in Falls Church, Virginia.

Let’s examine who knows what happened. We know from the investigation so far that your colleagues in Atlanta heard the crash. We know from the various reports by police that other drivers witnessed the crash. We know from the hospital that your significant other was called to the hospital and given a description of what happened, as was your boss. You also found out that statements were given to all the insurance companies involved.

Let’s examine why it happened. We know from our investigation so far that you were not the cause of this crash. However, that is not the full picture. We also have to know why your injuries happened as a result of the crash. I need to examine not only all the medical reports and tests from the hospital, but also all the treatment reports from the doctors you will need to see and pay to recover from your injuries.

How a Lawyer That Cares Protects You

As a trial lawyer, I have a pretty good idea of why injuries happen, and it usually never starts with “I meant to do that.” The fact of the matter is that all injuries can be prevented—it’s just a question of when it could have been prevented and did the person or entity want to invest the time or money it would take to prevent the injury. Now join me on a journey to put your life together again through the laws that may be available to you.

I know of only two ways that I, as a personal injury lawyer, can put your life together again under the laws: medical treatment and money. I put them in that order because if I take care of your needs, the money will take care of itself. Your first cause of action to rectify the harms brought to you and your family is to pursue a negligence action against the responsible parties. We look at many things when considering who to hold responsible for your harms, including where should we hold those parties responsible. The responsible parties to take care of you medically and financially can be the driver of the truck, the company who employs the driver of the truck, the parties responsible for the design of the roadway you were on, your employer or your own car insurance, among others. In your case, we will decide together which state or federal court we should hold the parties responsible in so that we can put your life together again. In a negligence action, the laws are designed to address both your economic and non-economic harms (pain and suffering), and depending on the state, we will want to pursue it in a court that provides the fullest recovery. However, this will take a considerable period of time, and you have bills to pay and a life to continue while you receive medical care.

We should also look at what other laws there are to protect you. Your injury arose out of and in the course of your employment, and therefore the workers’ compensation laws are available to help you medically and financially. While you are recovering and not able to work, the workers’ compensation laws of at least the District of Columbia, and maybe the surrounding DMV, will provide you with lifetime medical care at the expense of your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance, as well as tax-free weekly income replacement benefits to help financially during your recovery. This is an important law that is sometimes overlooked, but for injuries at work it is invaluable to you, since your employer is required to purchase them as part of your employee benefits.

If we believe that this life changing injury has permanently restricted you from engaging in certain job duties of your employment, you may have rights under the American with Disabilities Act. It is not okay that your career and your family’s right to happiness has been put in jeopardy as a result of this injury. Although a personal injury attorney may not specifically handle this part of your case, he or she should be able to educate as to who may be able to help.

If we believe that this life changing injury has completely eliminated your ability to ever return to gainful employment, you may have access to medical care and financial assistance under the social security laws of your state. This may include a claim for social security disability benefits which you have been paying into because of your employment. Once again, a personal injury attorney should be able to educate you as to what steps to take to protect this right. You may also have been prudent enough to have purchased a disability policy in case of your inability to work, or even your employer, as part of your employment, has a disability policy on your behalf that you could turn to for medical and financial assistance.

What You Should Expect

Now that you have been educated about your rights, you need to be advised as to what your best course is to put your life back together. We will discuss not only the time and effort it will take, but a personal injury will be open and honest about what it will cost you. In most cases, it will cost you nothing as personal injury cases are handled on a contingency basis. This basically means that your personal injury lawyer will not get paid unless you get paid. As all of us are aware, if it’s not worth fighting for, then it is not worth pursuing. I never have represented a person with a life changing injury and heard them say, “My life and my family’s life is not worth fighting for.”

At each step of the process, timely advice is the key to putting your life back together. Therefore, communication with your personal injury lawyer is a sure sign that they care about you. This is all about you. Without you, there is no personal injury case. This relationship is the foundation on which your recovery will begin.

As the saying, “put up or shut up” implies, we are going to have to fight for your rights. Your life changing injury happened, and somebody has to say, “I was the responsible party.” As simple as it is to say, I’m sorry for what I have done, it’s not that simple when money and reputation are involved. In order to put your life back together again, a personal injury lawyer may need to go to trial to have a jury of your peers hold the company of the truck driver responsible, or to force your underinsured insurance policy to pay if they refuse to pay you the benefits you purchased from them. However you choose your fight and against whom you fight, make no doubt about it, you will need a personal injury lawyer to lead the way.

As I said earlier, one of the first things I learned many years ago about what a personal injury lawyer should do: Educate, Advise, and Litigate for your clients, I have spent over 20 years of my life discovering that those are the tools of a personal injury lawyer. I have also discovered that in order to be a personal injury lawyer, I must always strive to be:

A lawyer that will always have time to listen to you. A lawyer that will always have time to put your interest first. A lawyer that will always fight for you.

Many people may know someone injured in a traumatic event, such as a motor vehicle collision or a fall. However, many people don’t, or the people they know who’ve been hurt have kept this information private. As personal injury lawyers, it is our job to help others, particularly juries, to understand the real and meaningful ways that an injury disrupts the lives of our clients, particularly when that injury is caused by another’s actions and decisions.

As anyone who commutes in the Baltimore-Washington metro area knows, rear end collisions occur every day. Sometimes, the drivers and passengers involved walk away with no problems. Other times, they are not so lucky. To illustrate the unseen effects of injury, consider this relatively simple example for a car crash involving Gary. (To be clear, Gary is not a real person, he exists only for this example). Gary is 32 years old and works as a welder for a utility company. He is driving work on an ordinary Monday morning when, while waiting at a red light, his car is rear ended. The police are called, the parties exchange information and both vehicles are able to drive away. Gary goes on to work. After all, he doesn’t feel too badly immediately following the crash, and he has bills to pay and a family to support. Since Gary works for a utility company, his work is physical. He has to move and lift heavy tools, move large metal objects, and engage in other physical activity. As the day wear on, what began as tightness in his neck and back became worse.

To an outside observer, neck and/or back pain may not seem like something that is terribly serious. Someone who doesn’t have first hand experience with this sort of traumatic injury may think that a bit of neck or back pain is no big deal. And Gary himself may not know how serious the injury is. The true severity of an injury like Gary’s may not always be apparent in the immediate aftermath of the collision.

So let’s take a look at some of the ways in which Gary’s injuries will impact his life. To begin with the broadest view: he will experience physical pain. Back and neck pain can cause even the most mundane of movements to be painful. What will that pain actually mean to Gary in concrete, real life terms? What will that mean for his relationships, his work, his hobbies, his goals? Let’s break that down in more detail.

How Physical Injuries Effect Family Relationships

Gary is relatively young at 32 years old. He has two young children: a 3-year-old boy and a 4-month-old girl. As any parent can attest, caring for young children requires a tremendous amount of work, even on the good days. Now imagine that Gary has arrived home after a long day of physical work. Even without his injury, he is tired and probably a bit sore. Layer on top of that the pain and stiffness from Gary’s injuries, and all of a sudden playing with or caring for his children is a much more difficult task. No parent wants this kind of interaction turn into a physically painful and difficult experience. A three year old may not understand why Daddy doesn’t want to pick him up when he gets home from work. Imagine how that makes Gary feel when he sees the hurt on his child’s face when he tells them no, Daddy can’t carry you.

But that’s not the only relationship that suffers when someone is injured. These days, many two-parent households are ones where both parents have to work to make ends meet. This means that both parents need to find time to take care of ordinary household chores (anything from major home repairs, to everyday tasks like carrying in groceries) in between work, sleep, and taking care of the children. When one of those parents is dealing with some kind of physical injury, that division of labor can be upset. So an injured person like Gary, who is already trying to get better, may be dealing with the feelings that come along with feeling like he is not doing his part to keep the family operating day to day. Effects such as those described above can stress on a relationship, which might already be strained thanks to the daily grind of working and taking care of young children. This isn’t to imply that Gary’s wife (or the partner of any injured person) wouldn’t be understanding in a situation like this. But even “minor” neck or back injuries can have effects which can persist. When you add the psychological stress brought on by some of the other factors discussed, even the healthiest relationships suffer.

When Injuries Prevent You from Working

How do Gary’s injuries affect his work? As I mentioned, Gary is a welder for a utility company. This means he may be working outdoors. Or maybe he works in confined locations inside power plants. He may find himself bending, crouching, or climbing. Welding is a skilled trade that is in demand in many areas. Welders have the potential to make a decent wage, but the work is physical. If Gary is temporarily placed on a limited or off work status, his family will likely face financial hardship. Only 39% of Americans have enough savings to cover a $1,000 emergency. In the D.C. Metro area, there’s no way $1,000 covers rent or a mortgage; never mind utilities, gas, food… the list goes on and on. If Gary’s off work (or “disability period”) lasts a long time, or if he loses his job entirely, that financial hardship goes up tenfold – putting even more pressure on him and his family.

But that’s not all. Gary, like many Americans, takes a certain sense of pride and identity from his work, and from his ability to provide for his family. When an injury threatens Gary’s ability to go to work and provide for his family, more than just his job is threatened. Part of Gary’s very identity is threatened, and that is something that is impossible to put a price on.

When You Can’t Do the Things that Keep You Sane

Depending on what Gary likes to do for fun, his hobbies or recreational activities could be impacted by his injuries. If Gary enjoys physical activities like cycling, or playing basketball, or bowling with friends, he may not be able to do these things at all, or might find himself dealing with even more pain if he tries. But sports aren’t the only hobbies hampered by injury. Imagine that Gary enjoys working on cars as a way to enjoy his free time. If he has a neck or back injury that causes him pain, the last thing he will want to do after a long day of work is to get under the hood of a car. Further, if Gary is unable to spend times taking part in activities with his friends, those friendships may suffer, all because Gary was in a car crash. Even relatively stationary activities like reading a book can be affected if Gary’s neck or back pain make it difficult to sit in one position for an extended period of time.

Now, one may say that it is pessimistic to assume that all of these things will happen to Gary because he got hurt. But ALL of these things don’t necessarily have to happen to one person for that person’s life to be impacted in unexpected ways due to an unexpected injury. Even if just SOME of these things occur, that is enough to change a person’s routine, or make the challenges of daily life more difficult than they were before the injury.

What About Driving Anxiety?

All of these factors can combine with each other to create a profound psychological impact on an injured person, particularly through feelings of anxiety, fear, isolation, anger, or helplessness. Gary, or any other victim of a motor vehicle collision, may experience fear or anxiety related to driving. This can be crippling to a person who has to drive to meet their daily needs, such as going to work, shuttling children around, or running other routine errands. Additionally, a person who curtails their own driving due to fear or anxiety loses the freedom of mobility that comes with driving. This can cause a person to limit their engagement with other people in their lives and potentially grow isolated. Let us assume that Gary had a rich social life before being involved in his collision. If he doesn’t like to drive to different places and if it hurts to take part in physical hobbies, that social life is going to suffer. Through his diminished ability to perform his job, his inability to participate in the lives of his children, and his loss of ability to travel or do the things that he used to do for fun, Gary is left with a much different daily life than the one he enjoyed before. For a relatively young adult in the prime of his life, the feelings of isolation, the lack of control over one’s situation, and the uncertainty about one’s recovery can be overwhelming and debilitating.

Getting Medical Help

It may go without saying, but injuries like Gary’s will probably require some kind of medical treatment in order to resolve. As alluded to above, neck or back injuries from a car crash can be relatively minor, in the case of “soft tissue” whiplash injuries such as sprains. Or the same kind of crash may result in more serious injuries such as a disc herniation or even a fractured vertebrae. More serious injuries like this could even require surgical treatment if more conservative treatment measures turn out not to be successful. Surgery of any kind is risky even under the best of circumstances. Neuro surgery or orthopedic surgery carries with it risk of side effects, potential for failure, or other complications. Some injured people have good health insurance that can help ease the burden of the cost of surgery and follow up care, but other injured people may face the uncertainty of not knowing how such a bill will be paid. Still others may undergo surgery in an emergency setting and then get stuck with a huge medical bill with no way to pay it. Even assuming that a is successful, a person with a serious injury may never fully recover and may be left dealing with the effects of that injury for a life time.

But Why Do Injured People Need Attorneys?

So why do injured people need attorneys? Well, let’s look back at Gary’s case: The insurance company for the vehicle that ran into him wants to close his claim as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Gary is not in a position to truly understand the real value of his claim and the insurance company knows this. That’s why Gary needs an experienced attorney that’s looking out for him. Obtaining representation when you find yourself in Gary’s position is not about taking advantage of anyone or anything. It is about making sure that the insurance company (which makes a profit by finding a way to not pay a fair claim value) does not take advantage of a person who is in a rough spot. That is why it is so important for someone who’s been injured in a car crash, slip and fall, or some other circumstance caused by another’s carelessness, to contact an experienced and knowledgeable personal injury attorney to determine their rights and see if they need an attorney. Make sure you talk to someone who is looking out for you, and willing to go to bat for you when the insurance company tries to play games.

If you are reading this post and you’re lucky enough to have never been injured as the result of someone else’s negligence, I hope this information can give a bit of insight into what it’s like for someone who has had their life disrupted by circumstances outside of their control. If you have been injured in a car crash, a slip and fall, or as the result of another’s carelessness, I hope this has helped you understand why its important to at least consult with an attorney to help understand your rights and what you’re entitled to.

by Mike Herdman

If you have just been injured on or in connection with your job, the following can be used as a guide for your next steps. These steps are designed to make sure you avoid common mistakes that can hurt your chances of being properly treated and compensated.

While the internet can be a great resource, this information is being provided as generally applicable advice. Every case is different, and this guide is not a substitute for a competent, experienced lawyer. Please keep in mind that you can reach out to an attorney’s office, such as mine, for a free consultation if you’ve been hurt on the job.

Step One: Report the Injury to Your Supervisor as Soon as You Can

As soon as you reasonably can, contact your supervisor and let them know that you have been hurt. If you were rushed to the hospital right after the injury, you should try to contact your employer and report the injury as soon as you are able.

If the insurance company denies your claim, you may have to prove to a judge, in court, that you were injured on the job. If you cannot prove you were injured, you may receive no compensation in connection with your injury. One of the best places to start is by building a paper trail.

So, tell your supervisor you have been injured. Call them if you cannot speak directly with them. Whether you do or do not speak directly with your supervisor, try to send an email to your supervisor or HR explaining that you were injured, and keep a copy of that email for your own records.

If you can, take pictures of where you were injured, and take down the names of people who witnessed the injury. Try to see if there is a surveillance camera that captured the injury on camera.

Once you have notified your employer that you’ve been injured, they will generally try to fill out an incident report with you and ask that you sign it. It can be ok to sign, as long as you carefully read it over and confirm that the information is correct. Do not give in to pressure to sign something that is inaccurate. If you feel that something is incorrect, you can write corrections directly on the document before signing it.

If your boss tries to persuade you to not file an incident report or claim, this is an immediate red flag that indicates you may not be treated fairly.

Most importantly, tell the truth about what has happened. If the insurance company plans on denying your claim, one of their easiest defenses is to make you look like a liar. Your best defense against this is to always tell the truth, and to be clear about what details you do know, don’t know or don’t remember.

Step Two: Get Medical Treatment

Once you’ve notified your supervisor about the injury, your next step should be to get treatment for your injuries as soon as you can. If you go to your primary care physician 3 months after the injury, you may be forgetting important details about the injury, including when you were injured and how it happened. Delaying your care hurts your recovery, and it hurts your case.

When you are being examined by a doctor for the first time, tell them what happened. Explain to them how you were hurt. Make sure they are aware that you suffered an injury at work, as they should be explaining that in their report. How you were hurt will also give the doctor a better understanding of your current condition, so that they can provide proper medical care.

Next, make sure the doctor (and every following doctor or therapist that you see) is aware of every problem you are experiencing and have experienced since your workplace injury. Doctors are not perfect. The doctors cannot treat issues that they do not know about. If you have fallen from a ladder and broken both of your wrists, the doctor should be able to see the breaks and focus a lot of your treatment on those injuries. However, what if you’re feeling numbness in your fingertips, having nightmares, hearing ringing in your ears or having trouble controlling your bladder? You need to let the doctor know about these issues. Issues that you think may seem too insignificant to talk to the doctor about may in fact be because of something more serious than you realize.

Do not be shy. Sensitive or personal health issues which you may feel embarrassed or ashamed to talk about with the doctor need to be discussed. If you’re uncomfortable bringing it up with your current doctor or nurse, you can ask for somebody else to discuss it with—maybe somebody of the same gender. No matter what has happened to you, medical professionals have likely already seen issues like yours before through training and/or experience. Your injury is not the result of a personal failing, and you will not be judged for it. All of the horrible things that can result from workplace trauma can happen to anybody. Whatever you may experience is a problem which needs to be fixed, but it can only be fixed if the doctor knows about it.

Your medical records are evidence for your case. If your records are missing complaints about certain injuries or don’t describe how or if an injury has occurred, you can find yourself having a hard time receiving benefits from your workers’ compensation case.

Step Three: Dealing With the Insurance Company

In most instances, your employer has an insurance company that provides them insurance for workers’ compensation cases. If your employer does not have insurance, they may be “self-insured” and have the money themselves, or they may be covered by the Uninsured Employer’s Fund of Virginia.

In every case, you must keep in mind that the insurance company is a profit-driven business which is looking to spend the minimum amount of money possible. In many cases, the cheapest thing to do is to provide the injured worker with medical care in order to help the injured worker recover and get back to work without needing more extensive treatment or pay for time off from work. However, when the injury is more serious, the injured worker may find that the insurance company is actively trying to cut costs, and the most effective cost cutting measure is to try and deny any responsibility for your injuries.

If you are contacted by the insurance company and asked if they have permission to take a “recorded statement,” you do not need to comply with that request. A recorded statement is when someone from the insurance company interviews you about the injury and records your statement. A recorded statement provides the insurance company with extra details and information which can (and oftentimes will) later be used against you. You are never required to give a recorded statement.

After you are injured, the insurance company must decide whether they will accept responsibility for your injury. If they have decided to accept responsibility, you should be offered a choice of at least three different doctors who can provide treatment for your injuries. This is referred to as a “panel” of doctors in Virginia. You should choose one of these doctors. After you have made your choice, this doctor and their referrals will be the responsibility of the insurance company. If you try to get your own treatment outside of this doctor, you should expect to have to pay for those costs yourself.

Step Four: Get Disability Slips From Your Doctor

Every time you see a doctor after a workers’ compensation injury, you should never leave the appointment without the doctor writing down what your medical restrictions are. Your doctor will either (1) restrict you totally from doing any sort of work, (2) restrict you from certain activities but clear you for light duty or (3) release you to return to work full duty, without restrictions.

If your doctor has restricted you to light duty (meaning you can do some work, but not all of your normal work duties), it is very important that the doctor give you clear instructions about the sorts of activities you can reasonably do at work while allowing you to recover, and without putting you at greater risk of further injury. Some examples of light duty restrictions include limits on how much weight can be lifted, as well limits on bending, kneeling, climbing, sitting or standing.

Step Five: Follow Your Doctor’s Advice and Keep Your Employer Updated

If your doctor has released you back to doing light duty or full duty work, you should let your employer know about this as soon as possible in order to see if they can provide you with work. If your doctor has released you back to full duty work, you only need to ask to return to doing the job you were doing before the injury occurred. If you were released to light duty, you need to show the doctor’s restrictions to your employer and ask them if they can accommodate those restrictions in the workplace.

If your doctor finds that you are totally disabled from work (meaning you can’t work at all—also known as temporary total disability), you should be eligible to receive workers’ compensation payments for time that you are out of work. You should let your employer know that your doctor has determined you’re totally disabled from working for the time being.

Once you have been properly released to return to your preinjury work, your only chance at being paid is by returning to work and getting paid the way you were paid before the injury. However, if you have been released by your doctor to return to light or full duty work, you need to let your employer know you are eligible to return to work (with restrictions if you’re on light duty), in order to ensure you can get paid. If your doctor has released you back to work to light duty but you do not tell your employer, you may not be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits for time off of work.

If your employer says they can accept you back to work with your current restrictions, you should make sure that they are honoring those restrictions. If your doctor, for example, tells you to not do any overhead lifting at all, yet your employer asks you to stock the top shelves, you should remind your employer that your doctor has forbidden you from doing that activity. You are allowed to refuse to do activities which your doctor has advised you to not do. If you’re being asked to do something your doctor said not to do, or you are doing something you feel you cannot do, you need to notify your doctor right away.

Step Six: Follow Up With Your Doctor

The goal of medical treatment in a workers’ compensation case is to let you recover and heal from your injuries, be released from the doctor’s care and to return to your normal life feeling healthy and able to work. However, until your doctor or therapist says you are released from care and don’t need to come back to see them anymore, you should return to them for continued treatment. At the end of your appointments, your doctor should tell you how soon they want to see you again, and you should make sure to schedule your next appointment for that time.

With proper care, your condition should improve; however, there is always the possibility that your condition can get worse. The doctor needs to know about new problems which were either not there right after the original injury, or which came about afterwards as a result of the injury. If you start feeling new problems, you need to make the doctor aware of them so they can determine if those issues are related to your injury and treat them.

Continued visits to your doctor should also keep you updated about your current work status. If you are still on light duty or temporarily totally disabled (TTD) status, but do not visit your doctor for a disability slip, it can be hard to prove you are entitled to payments for periods that you are not being seen by a doctor.

Finally, you have the right to ask your doctor for referrals to different medical specialists if they are needed. If you are referred by your doctor to another specialist or treatment provider, it’s important you try to get an appointment with them as soon as possible.

Step Seven: Should you hire an attorney?

When you’re unable to get what you want, and you cannot figure out the solution yourself, it’s okay to ask for help. If you find you’re not getting what you want or need, or you feel like you’re not being treated fairly by your employer or their insurance company, you should consult with a lawyer.

Even if you feel that your employer and insurance company seem to be treating you well, you can still talk to a lawyer. Talking to a lawyer can cost you nothing beyond time, as many lawyers give free consultations. There are often benefits available to you which you are not even aware of.

If your case has been denied by the insurance company, you should definitely speak with a lawyer. This is also true if you are not being paid for time missed from work or when the insurance company is refusing to pay for or authorize medical treatment that’s been recommended by your treating doctor.

If you decide to hire an attorney in Virginia, keep in mind that you are generally only paying the attorney a percentage out of what they have recovered for you. If your attorney gets nothing for you, they do not get paid in Virginia. Every attorney’s fee must be determined and endorsed by a judge.

Step Eight: File a Claim to Protect Your Rights

Claims for Virginia workers’ compensation benefits generally must be filed within a maximum of two years of the date you were injured. In most instances, failing to file a claim within two years can prevent you from receiving any benefits. If you do not hire an attorney, you should still file a claim for benefits with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission. The following link includes the form, as well as instructions: http://www.vwc.state.va.us/content/claim-benefits-form.

Hopefully, this has helped explain what your rights are if you’re injured on the job in Virginia. Remember, every case is different, and this guide is not a substitute for a competent, experienced lawyer. If you’ve been injured at work and have additional questions about your rights, you should reach out to a competent, experienced workers’ compensation attorney.

For information on workers’ compensation claims in D.C., check out my colleague David Kapson’s blog post on that topic. For information on how workers’ compensation claims work in Maryland and D.C. when you have more than one job, my colleague David Snyder has an excellent blog post you may find helpful. For information on why the workers’ compensation system is important and protects the rights of everyday, hard-working Americans, my colleague Krista DeSmyter lays out the case in a recent post that I also strongly recommend.

To me, the underdog is characterized by a lifelong fight. Things seem bleak, but the underdog fights to overcome. He fights and he struggles. He keeps his head down and works. Every once in a while, pop culture reminds us of how great the underdog story is: a JFK is elected or an Obama inspires us all. The Orioles beat the Yankees. But then, almost always on cue, the underdog is forced to endure more struggle. The underdog sees his fight stopped and his dream deterred.

However, what makes the underdog special is how he responds to struggle. The underdog responds to insurmountable odds by gritting his teeth and pushing forward. The underdog does not stop trying. I am intimately familiar with the underdog’s story, and it’s why I do what I do. Why? Because I am one.

I started ChasenBoscolo on March 5, 1986, to be a law firm for the underdog, by the underdog. Back then, it was just Law Offices of Barry M. Chasen, and it was just my secretary and me. My oldest son had just been born. He was two months old when I started the firm. My friends told me the timing seemed a little off, but when you’re driven by a passion and you’ve got the underdog’s fight, timing doesn’t matter.

Five years before going out on my own, when I got my first job as a lawyer, it was the first time that I had ever set foot in a law firm. I was 33 years old. I was the 19th lawyer in a firm that represented injured workers in workers’ compensation claims and plaintiffs in personal injury cases in Maryland, DC and Virginia. However, over the five years that I worked for another firm, I learned a sad truth: lawyers in the industry made decisions and gave counsel to their clients that were in the firm’s best interest rather than the client’s. The goal was to increase the fee that the firm made. That felt wrong to me. Frankly, that is wrong.

So I left and started my own firm, the firm that today is called ChasenBoscolo. I did it, no matter how odd the timing, because I was sure that I could represent my clients and do a better job than the old firm. Of the cases that I wanted to take with me, 91% of the clients elected to stay with me. They wanted me to fight for them. I was committed to working in their best interest. I was committed to a philosophy then that still guides our firm today: if you take care of the clients, the money will take care of itself.

But all of this started long before I started fighting independently for my clients. Much earlier than my career as a lawyer, I had to fight for myself. Because we don’t have all day, and because in the interest of your time, I’ve edited my first draft of this post down from nearly 5,000 words. I’ll simply share three short segments of my own “underdogging” so that you can see why the fight we take on at ChasenBoscolo really hits home for me.

1.

I’m ten years old. I’m poor—well, my family is poor. My father, a taxi driver with an eighth-grade education, is working through the night. Last week he was robbed at gunpoint, so we don’t have any money. This week, we’ll be lucky if he brings home a hundred dollars. Me and a classmate both rip our jeans sliding into base at recess. He returns to school the next day with a new pair. I return with a patch on my ass. I realize I’m poor when my friends go to summer camp, to swimming pools and to amusement parks. I don’t do any of that. I’m lucky if my father drives us to the ocean for a day trip in his cab. Despite our poverty, my parents constantly reinforce that even though we have no money, I will get a college education. They ensure me that we will figure it out. At ten, that doesn’t mean much to me, but I feel supported.

As I get older, it means the world. I’m confident in myself because of their support. Then my father dies from a fatal heart attack on the street. He’s 51 years old. Things get worse. My mother cannot not maintain the mortgage payments on our house. It’s sold at auction and then rented back to us. Our phone service is shut off; our lights don’t turn on. I don’t know where our next meal is coming from.

I’m an underdog though. I’m a fighter. I don’t give up. Although I want to go to college, I work instead. I’m hired by the Social Security Administration as a GS-2 file clerk making $3,680 a year. I get promoted multiple times over a few years. I end up being promoted to the level of a computer programmer. I even start taking college courses at night and finish enough credits to be about a quarter of the way done. The light inside me will not flicker out.

2.

I’m drafted into the army. The 1960s are a time of unrest. College students, African-Americans and others protest against the actions of our government. We are engaged in an unpopular war and the rights of African-Americans are being infringed from equal accommodations to voting rights to economic equality. The anti-war protests become increasingly violent with flag burnings, bombings, rock throwing. Groups like the Weather Underground, Students for a Democratic Society, The Black Panthers, The Symbionese Liberation Army and The Youth International Party are all active in the ‘60s. In the Civil Rights Movement, there is a mix of violent and non-violent protests. They are fighting for justice, equality and opposing a war that is remote to the interests of the United States and is taking place half a world away.

I am anti-war. I don’t consider moving to Canada, but I don’t understand what we’re doing in Vietnam. I keep my head down and I push myself during our basic training. I have no other choice but to fight, to do my best. I’m offered an opportunity to train to become an officer, and I take it. I understand that I may be safer as an officer than as an artillery man. Things are looking up. But of course, as always, the underdog is faced with challenges no matter how good things seem to get.

I train to be an officer, and this is how it goes: after a hard day of training, our commanders show up at our barracks and tell us to put on our full-pack uniforms. They then take us for a long run which culminates with us crawling through a muddy stream. We’re exhausted and filthy when we get back to our barracks after 11:00 p.m. The training commanders then tell us that we have an inspection at 5:00 a.m. After we’re dismissed and go inside, we discover that our bunks have been trashed and our bookcases overturned. Our foot lockers and lockers have been turned upside down. We have six hours to get everything in order, and then we’ll do it all again the next day. That seems bad to me until I get to Vietnam.

I land in Vietnam and spend a few months doing basic intelligence reporting, but then everything changes. I’m walking back to my office with my commanding officer after a meeting and suddenly a succession of rocket blasts come closer and closer. The blasts do not stop. We start to run. My ears are ringing now but it’s my heartbeat that I hear. Me and my commanding officer slide into a bunker, a hollowed-out mound of wet sand bags. We look at each other but neither of us say a thing. Our faces say enough: fear. I hear my heart beat. I hear the blasts, still louder. And then finally, just before I’m sure the next one will land on our bunker, they stop. I sit there for a long time and consider how lucky I am. Then I think about how unlucky I am. Then again—lucky.

Sometimes, for some people, the blasts don’t stop before the bunker. For me they do, and I get to come home after another year. Within 30 minutes of landing at Travis Air Force Base in the Bay area, I am called a “baby killer” by protesters outside the gates. I cannot wear my uniform off base without being subjected to a constant barrage of verbal abuse. Whenever I appear in public in uniform, I am always insulted and attacked.

3.

It’s 2018 and I’ve survived Vietnam. I’ve finished night school at the University of Maryland University College. I’ve finished law school at night too: the University of Baltimore. I’m a lawyer. I’ve found my calling, and I’ve made a career out of it. I’ve realized that my old employers had the wrong attitude. They didn’t know what it meant to be an underdog. When I leave that firm, I take almost all of my clients with me. Since then, I’ve helped thousands of other clients. I’ve won countless cases. I’m proud of myself. I’ve grown my firm.

I’ve married the love of my life, and I have three wonderful sons who are grown themselves. They didn’t have to go to night school. I’ve provided for them in a way that they’re not the same underdog I was. But they still are underdogs in some sense. We all are in different ways.

It’s 2018, and the firm is still growing. We’re successful; we have commercials. We’re hiring lawyers and winning cases. We’re delivering justice to underdogs. I’m checking every box by the measure of conventional success. But things are not easy. We haven’t cracked a code where winning cases is easy. Let me explain why: being an underdog means that you’re fighting a beast that’s bigger than you.

It’s 2018, and judges have been “tort reformed.” They default to side on the behalf of the insurance companies—the behemoth conglomerates making more than a billion dollars a year. Case decision makers—commissioners—suffer from “compassion fatigue.” The law is not applied fairly and impartially and the law is rarely construed in favor of the injured worker. Some of this is the result of politics. Some of it has occurred because of tort reform propaganda and lies.

It’s 2018, and the deck is still stacked against the underdog. On one side, you have the little guy represented by a firm not much larger than a football team. On the other side, you have big corporations or insurance companies with virtually unlimited resources. They will always present the best evidence that money can buy. These companies on the other side make more than $250 million per quarter. In three months, they make more money to use at their disposal than we can ever dream of.

It’s 2018, and I continue to fight. I continue to fight because it’s what I know how to do. I know how to push on, hungry and in the dark: my father has died. I know how to push on, heartbeat in my throat: the blasts get closer and closer and my commanding officer and I believe that we’re already dead. And I know how to push on when I walk into the courtroom and I see both representatives of a massive insurance company who have lobbied politicians in D.C. to pass legislation that helps them win cases. I see my client who, just like me, is an underdog.

Just like me—just like all of us—my clients are pushing forward to make a better life for themselves and their families. Then they are injured in an act of negligence. When that happens, they deserve representation. They deserve someone who will show up ready to fight, someone who won’t back down from a company with deep pockets who threatens to stand in the way of justice—someone who’s seen stuff a lot tougher than the representation and evidence that money can buy.