Local Attorney Explains Workers’ Compensation Cases

Our Daily Show Interview! Holly Marcum- Keith Short & Associates- Workers Comp

ALTON – Attorney Holly Marcum is here to demystify workers’ compensation cases for both employers and their employees.

Marcum, a partner with Keith Short & Associates in Alton, explained that workers’ comp is “a very nuanced area of law.” She often deals with acute injuries, where someone is injured in an instant, but she also sees a lot of repetitive injuries, like the development of carpal tunnel syndrome over time.

“It’s anybody who’s been hurt while in the course and scope of their employment,” she explained. “That’s the legal term.”

If you’ve been injured at work, you’re typically entitled to three things. First, you’re entitled to medical treatment, which should be paid for by the employer’s insurance. You should also receive temporary total disability benefits, which pay you two-thirds of your weekly wage, to make up for lost wages.

Once you’ve achieved maximum medical improvement, meaning your injury or the resulting disability is “as good as it’s going to get,” you’re entitled to a permanent partial disability sum, or the “lump sum” at the end of the case.

Marcum hears a lot of people say employees are faking their injuries, but she emphasized that this is not common, especially because the permanent partial disability sum is rarely lucrative.

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“Work comp is not one of those areas of law where anybody gets rich,” she said. “Why would you fake an injury, go through all the treatment, the headache, and all of this, when sometimes our clients come out just okay? It’s one of those systems that’s designed to balance the interests of the employer and the employee so the employee doesn’t get rich off of it and the employer doesn’t go broke off of it. It’s meant to meet somewhere in the middle.”

However, there can be some intense trials. Unlike other cases, workers’ comp cases can feature “this battle of testimony” between employers and employees. Marcum compared it to a TV show where “all of a sudden the answer is revealed and it’s a surprise at the trial.”

Most employers will pass the case onto their insurance. But some smaller businesses are uninsured, which can become an “absolute nightmare” because the owners are often representing themselves and don’t have a system in place to deal with workers’ comp cases. Marcum advises small businesses to invest in insurance if they can and clarify whether the owners themselves are covered under the policy.

Sometimes, a preexisting condition can make someone more susceptible to an injury. If the injury happens at work, they’re still eligible for worker’s compensation. But the employer’s insurance and legal counsel will usually study the employee’s medical records.

“You take the employee how you find them. Now, that being said, they’re going to look at the records,” Marcum said. “You look at how long it’s been since you received treatment, what your complaints were before the accident versus after the accident. You may have had complaints, but it may be completely different what your complaints are for that body part after the accident…You get really deep into the weeds of the medical sometimes.”

No matter what the situation is, Marcum encourages you to consider talking to an attorney if you’ve been injured at work. She also stressed the importance of going to the doctor and documenting everything that happens. Keith Short & Associates can recommend doctors who specialize in workers’ comp to make this process easier.

Additionally, Marcum noted that they will never pressure you to pursue legal action. But you can schedule a free consultation and have a conversation with an attorney to learn more about what you’re entitled to.

“Certainly come in and ask your questions,” she said. “The consultation is free. You may learn things that you didn’t know about the system.”

For more information about Keith Short & Associates, including their workers’ compensation division, visit their official website at SILTrial.com.

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