What We Do

Workers' compensation is what we do. It's all we do.

Below are some basic principles of workers' compensation law in Utah. Please contact us with any questions you may have about any of this information.

Exclusive Remedy Doctrine - If an employee is injured at work, and his employer has workers' compensation insurance, the employee is only entitled to workers' compensation benefits from the insurance company. He may not sue his employer for negligence under tort law. (Of course this does not apply to third parties who cause the employee's injuries.)

Causation - The injured employee must prove (a) that his injury occurred in the course and scope of his employment (legal causation), and (b) that the medical treatment he is receiving is related to that industrial injury (medical causation).

Benefits - Most injured employees are astonished to learn that there is no compensation under workers' compensation insurance for negligence of the employer, for loss of future earning capacity, for pain and suffering, or for insurance bad faith. With rare exception, an injured employee is entitled only to the following five benefits. Even these benefits are awarded begrudgingly by the insurance company only after a bought-and-paid-for insurance medical exam.

• Death benefits (to the family, if killed)
• Medical expenses for life (if "reasonable and necessary" to treat the injury)
• 67% of wages (tax free), while unable to work (cap is $631 per week this year)
• Disability payment (based upon a whole-person impairment rating given by a doctor)
• Lifetime disability payment (if unable to work ever again, for any employer)

Attorney's Fees - By administrative rule, attorneys may charge clients 20% of any disability benefits recovered (excluding medical expenses) up to $24,275, 15% of any disability benefits recovered between $24,275 and $48,550, and 10% of any disability benefits recovered above $48,550, but in no case more than $12,250. Fee percentages and the cap increase slightly if an appeal is made to the Court of Appeals. Many attorneys do not find this work profitable, which suits insurance carriers just fine, because injured workers cannot get legal help.

Time - The biggest enemy of an injured worker is time. It takes between five and six months after filing a request to get a hearing date. It takes three months to get an interim ruling from the judge, another five to nine months to get an opinion from a medical panel, or "jury" (if there is a medical issue—rather than a legal or factual issue--in dispute), another three months to get a final ruling from the judge, another 18 months if either side makes a motion for review (appeal) to the Labor Commission, and several years more if the case is appealed to the Utah Court of Appeals.

Contact us for more information on how we can help »

The Utah law firm of Davis, Halston & Benjamin consists of an excellent team of worker's compensation attorneys . Our lawyers understand the complex legal issues involved in workman's comp claims and offer sound legal counsel on important matters such as death benefits, medical expenses & lifetime disability payments. Contact our Salt Lake City worker's compensation lawyers today for counsel on your employment law case.