Q: Do we need a workman comp attorney?
Our father is employed by large national medical waste disposal company and is a long haul trucker for them and drove their company semi tractor truck. The accident occurred late Feb and did not involve anyone else. His place of hire and residence is in Arizona but his accident took place on the in New Mexico. He was not wearing his seat belt for some unknown reason and suffered catastrophic head injury along with various other injuries. He was first treated in New Mexico and then he was air lifted to Texas into the level 2 ICU. He is in a coma, unresponsive and definitely suffered brain damage. He has since been moved to Mesa arizona as of last week. The insurance company is telling us to get a guardian ad litum appointed. We are not sure how to proceed.
A:
I'm sorry to hear about your father's accident. Having a guardian ad litum does sound like the appropriate immediate action. If the workers' compensation case is pending in AZ you should visit the Industrial Commission of Arizona’s web site for some helpful information about workers’ compensation claims. They also have various forms that you may find useful if you pursue this matter on your own behalf.
https://www.azica.gov/resources/employees
A lawyer could certainly help get the proper forms in order for you and also assist with what happens next (medical bills, ongoing treatment need, wage loss benefits and permanent benefits if your father doesn't make a full recovery. If you want to talk about this you can call me at 602-346-9031. I wish you the best.
A:
First, I am sorry to hear about your father and hopefully he will recover. Second, you have a choice of filing a workers' compensation (WC) claim in either New Mexico or Arizona, and I do not know the difference between benefits available for the two states because my practice is only in Arizona. It seems Arizona would be better logistically because it's easier for whoever is going to be managing the claim for your father to be in the same state where he lives and where he will presumably continue getting medical care. The charges for treatment in New Mexico and taxes will [should] be covered regardless of where the WC claim is filed. The insurance company, and it's not clear if that was for a New Mexico or Arizona claim, is correct that a guardian ad litem needs to be appointed as quickly as possible. That can be done through the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA), either online or someone can go in person to the Commission office at 800 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007. There is a claims desk in the back of the building on the first floor, and they can help with the application. I will try to put the link to the application here, but I'm not sure if the app will allow it and if it doesn't go through, the main website is AZICA.GoV.
https://azica.my.salesforce-sites.com/forms/WebformGuardianIncapacitated_VF
You also need to make sure a claim actually has been filed, and you can find that out by contacting the ICA at 602-542-4661, although without legal authority they may be reluctant to provide that information. The main question, again, is if and where a claim has already been filed and, if not, if it's better in New Mexico or Arizona. WC attorneys in Arizona generally charge a percentage of benefits eventually paid to or for the injured worker, and you should check with different attorneys-law firms to find out what that percentage will be and their experience with this type of catastrophic claim.
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