Albuquerque Workers' Compensation and Personal Injury Lawyers, Dorato and Weems LLC, represent individuals hurt in accidents (on the job, motor vehicle accidents or other personal injuries) to assure that the insurance company provides necessary medical care and pays the maximum financial benefits required by law.
Workers' Compensation
Albuquerque Workers' Compensation Lawyers Dorato & Weems LLC are ready to represent you against the trained professional adjusters and attorneys hired by your employer’s insurance company.
If you are injured on the job, you are entitled to benefits as set forth by the New Mexico Workers' Compensation Act. Generally, those benefits include wage replacement during the period of your medical recovery, payment of medical bills from “authorized” healthcare providers, and preferential treatment in re-hire.
While some work injuries heal quickly with little medical expense or lost time from work, others can be worse. In serious work injury claims, there are both short-term and long-term concerns. In the short term, you should be sure that you are receiving the correct financial benefits, and that your medical care is continuing appropriately and uninterrupted. Long term, you should be sure that you continue your entitlement to “reasonable and necessary” medical care and that your long term financial benefits are paid correctly.
The Workers' Compensation Act has areas of uncertainty and negotiation that can substantially impact your benefits. An insurance company has a loyalty to its shareholders, and to the business interest of minimizing its expenses. This can have significant economic consequences for you, as the underpayment of your benefits is in the insurance company’s best interest. We evaluate claims as your representative, assuring that you are receiving the maximum benefits to which you are entitled under the Workers' Compensation Act.
Medical care is often denied or rejected, especially if the workers' compensation insurance company disputes the extent of your injury, or disputes your doctor’s opinions as to the treatment you deserve. We often are involved in claims forcing insurance companies to pay for medical treatment that our clients need, and that their doctors recommend.
Financial benefits are also often disputed For instance, if you injured your back, neck, shoulders or hips, our office will evaluate the factors important in determining your long term lifting ability through the lens of assuring you are provided the maximum benefits to which you are entitled, not the minimum acceptable amount. Similarly, if you injure your arms or legs, the insurance company will pay based upon your “permanent impairment,” or loss of medical functioning. However, some companies refuse to pay, or even offer, benefits for the “loss of use” of your arms or legs based upon the limitations your injury causes to your work and personal life.
If you have questions regarding your Workers' Compensation claim, the benefits to which you are entitled, or how your case should be moving forward, call our firm immediately.
We provide a free initial consultation to explain your rights. If you decide to hire us, we will stay by your side during the entire process. Our firm will communicate with your adjuster or the insurance company attorney, complete and file all required paperwork, represent you throughout your claim, and work to provide the maximum benefits available to you. General information regarding Workers' Compensation claims is available in our Frequently Asked Questions. Please contact us for additional information, or to discuss your claim.
Albuquerque Workers' Compensation Lawyers Dorato and Weems LLC are ready to go to work for you against the trained professional adjusters and lawyers from the insurance company. We do not require any fees from you up-front. Your fees will be paid on a contingent basis, which means that any fees will be payable at the end from the benefits that we obtain for you. You will never owe any fees unless we collect benefits for you!
Auto and Personal Injuries
As former insurance company attorneys, Dorato and Weems LLC will maximize automobile accident and personal injury claims recovering for your lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, and all other damages allowable by law. Our goal is to help you minimize the effect that an injury has on your life and maximize your recovery as a result of an accident. When you are injured in an accident, you are faced with the onset of medical bills, losing time from work, and having to cope with injuries. This is an incredibly stressful and difficult time in any person’s life. Dorato and Weems LLC has the experience and compassion to assist you through this difficult time.
Immediately following an accident, an insurance company will often offer a small settlement. Given the lost time from work, and increasing medical bills, the offer can be inviting. However, rarely is the insurance company’s offer a good deal. Injuries are progressive and can get worse before they heal. It is nearly impossible to assess an accurate value for a personal injury claim within weeks of its occurrence.
If you are involved in an accident, call our firm immediately. We will discuss with you the progression of a claim, and the best ways to maximize both your medical and financial recovery.
Immediately after an accident, it is imperative that you seek medical care. An emergency room, urgent care facility or your family doctor are excellent resources for an initial medical evaluation following your accident. Medically, having your injuries evaluated allows doctors to diagnose your injuries and begin appropriate treatment as soon as possible. Legally, an immediate medical evaluation provides independent documentation of your injuries for use in establishing your damages in your case.
Waiting for medical treatment, or not reporting all of your injuries to doctors, is often used as a defense by insurance company to not cover the entirety of your injuries. Thus, be honest with your doctors about your injuries. Be sure to report every injury sustained in an accident, even those that do not hurt as badly.
After your initial medical evaluation, continue to see your doctor as often as your doctor recommends. Not only will this assist in your legal claim, but it will maximize your healing and medical recovery from your injuries. Also, be sure to keep receipts for all costs related to your accident, whether for rental cars, co-pays, prescriptions costs, or anything else. Keep copies of your pay stubs from before and after the accident. This is evidence that will be used to increase the value of your financial recovery after an accident.
If you are involved in an accident, call our firm immediately. We provide a free initial consultation to explain your rights. When you hire us, we will stay by your side during the entire process. Our firm will communicate with your adjuster or the insurance company attorney on your behalf, complete and file all required paperwork, represent you throughout your claim, and work to provide the maximum benefits available to you. Albuquerque Personal Injury Lawyers Dorato and Weems LLC are ready to go to work for you against the trained professional adjusters and lawyers from the insurance company. We do not require any fees from you up-front. Your fees will be paid on a contingent basis, which means that any fees will be payable at the end from the benefits that we obtain for you. You will never owe any fees unless we collect benefits for you!