A workplace injury can occur at any time. The personal injury and workers’ compensation lawyers at Bothe And Lauridsen in Columbia Falls, MT, want you to know the facts about workplace accidents.

An individual can suffer a workplace injury or death in a sudden event, such as a fall, or the injury can be an occupational disease. Examples are coal miners developing black lung and workers that remove asbestos developing asbestosis.

All Montana employers must carry workers’ compensation insurance for full-time and part-time employees. Injured employees have 30 days from the accident date to notify the employer. Workers should seek medical attention and report even minor injuries. For occupational diseases, workers must give notice within one year of when the workers knew or should have known of their occupational disease condition.

The only legal remedy injured workers have against employers for workplace accidents are filing workers’ compensation claims. But, if a third party’s negligence caused the workplace injury, the injured worker can receive workers’ compensation benefits and seek money damages from the third party. 

To file a workers' comp claim, a worker must give the employer, insurer, or Department of Labor and Industry a written and signed First Report of Injury within 12 months of the workplace injury. The employer’s insurer has 30 days to deny or accept the claim.

After a workplace injury, injured workers should consult a workers’ compensation attorney. For more than 30 years, the workers’ compensation and personal injury attorneys of Bothe And Lauridsen have provided exceptional service to their clients. Drawing on more than 100 years of combined experience, they pursue all avenues to obtain full compensation for clients’ workplace injury, disease, and death claims. Their clients do not pay attorney fees unless the attorney recovers money for the client.

For the top workers’ compensation or personal injury attorney in Northwest Montana, contact Bothe And Lauridsen, in Columbia Falls, MT. Call (406) 892-2193 today for a free consultation, or visit the website.