 | John Gibson
is a senior partner in the Wichita law firm of Gilliand & Hayes. He has been practicing law for nearly 30 years. In addition to healthcare law his practice includes wills, trusts, estate planning, probate and general representation of individuals and small business. Contact information: Phone:
316-264-7321; Fax: 316-264-8614; and e-mail: jgibson@boyerds.com |
Legal
2002-08-01 10:47:00
Why won’t an attorney represent me?
: I have a workers’ compensation claim. It is a back injury. I am having a hard time however finding an attorney to represent me. I am a postal worker. When I tell them this they say they can’t take the case. What is up with this? If I cant’ find a workers’ comp attorney to represent me can I just sue my employer in court?
John Gibson
Question: I have a workers’ compensation claim. It is a back injury. I am having a hard time however finding an attorney to represent me. I am a postal worker. When I tell them this they say they can’t take the case. What is up with this? If I cant’ find a workers’ comp attorney to represent me can I just sue my employer in court?Answer: Perhaps I should begin with a little background review of workers’ compensation claims and how a "work comp" claim is different from civil personal injury claim. Then I’ll try to address why you may be having a hard time retaining an attorney for your back injury claim.The "workers’ compensation" system for compensating an injured person is relatively new; it began to develop in the United States about 90 years ago (which indeed is relatively new for a legal process). It is solely a creature of legislation, meaning it has not evolved through the common law or court pronouncements, but exists only because each state has enacted workers’ compensation laws. Kansas passed our workers’ comp law in 1911 and, although it has been revised by our Legislature many times, it is still on the books and is actively in force today.
