In 2006, there were 68,444 work related injuries reported to the Utah Labor Commission. With a labor force of over one million workers, your chance of getting hurt at work are about one in twenty. Obviously, some industries are more prone to injuries than others. Transportation, construction, mining and farming have some of the highest rates of injury throughout the State. Workers’ compensation is a “no fault” system. That means the injured worker does not need to show the employer was at fault before benefits will be paid. Likewise, the employer cannot claim the injured worker was at fault in order to avoid paying workers’ compensation benefits. In this no fault system, the benefits for the injured worker are reduced. Typically, your medical expenses will be paid, you will be paid 2/3 of your typical wage while you’re off work, and if you sustain serious injury, permanent partial disability will be paid once your condition stabilizes. In the vast majority of these cases, benefits will be paid without the need of any legal intervention or judicial involvement. However, there is a subset of cases that virtually always require you to hire an attorney. These are permanent total disability cases.

If you’re a bus driver and you are paralyzed while on the job, there is little question that permanent disability benefits will be paid on that case, normally without the need of an attorney. However, most permanent total disability cases do not involve paraplegics or quadriplegics. They involve people just like you who sustain significant injuries, where they are able to do some things, but are not capable of working an 8 hour day, 5 days a week, competing against young, healthy workers. It is these cases that workers’ compensation insurance carriers almost always deny and which generally get into litigation. In these situations, you need an experienced workers’ compensation trial attorney. When workers have sustained significant injuries at work, such as back surgeries, knee replacements, head trauma and other similar injuries and cannot go back to work, the response from the insurance carrier is typically something as follows: I am really sorry that you had this work injury. Under Utah law, we’re required to pay for your medical expenses, which we have. We’re also required to pay for your time off work until your condition is stable. We have done that. Your doctor has given you an impairment rating and we will continue to pay that over the next several months. However, at that point our obligation ends. If you are unable to work, I would suggest that you contact the Utah Office of Vocational Rehabilitation or perhaps you should consider filing for Social Security disability. Mr. Prisbrey has been practicing workers’ compensation law in Southern Utah for almost 14 years. He has heard numerous clients describe conversations with insurance companies similar to this. In those years of practice he has never had one client tell him that the claims adjustor for the insurance carrier advised they had the right, pursuant to Utah law, to pursue a claim for permanent total disability. Employers have workers’ compensation insurance for a reason. The burden should not be shifted to the federal government, the Social Security Administration, nor should it be deferred to the tax payers of the State of Utah through vocational rehabilitation. The burden ultimately should lie upon the appropriate party, namely the workers’ compensation insurance carrier. If you sustained a significant injury in a work related accident and cannot go back to work because no one will hire you, you need to contact a workers’ compensation permanent total disability attorney. Here at Aaron J. Prisbrey, P.C. we have handled hundreds of permanent total disability claims. These claims are complex. Typically they require the need of a vocational expert who can testify as to the work you have done in the past, the jobs that are available in the local economy and whether you can do those jobs based upon functional restrictions from one or several doctors. We have developed a systematic approach to these cases. We work with your physicians and typically vocational experts to present a case to the Labor Commission, to maximize the possibility of obtaining a favorable disability award in your claim. Many times cases such as these are settled out of court. The results vary depending upon age, educational experience, severity of injury and numerous other factors. If you’re not sure whether you have a viable permanent total disability claim, please feel free to contact our office. Additionally, we have available through our website, the Labor Commission’s Employee Guide to Workers Compensation Benefits. Also, available through the website is Mr. Prisbrey’s book "Five Missteps That Can Cripple Your Utah Workers’ Compensation Case". While this book details the five things you can do that can hurt your workers’ compensation claim, it also provides information that is helpful in a workers’ compensation claim. In addition to the workers’ compensation book, Mr. Prisbrey has also written two other books relating to accidental injury. His first book, "Ten Essential Skills Your Injury Attorney Must Have", is available free of charge to Utah accident victims only. (This book can be obtained through the website or calling our automated toll-free number.) The book focuses on some of the complexities of injury cases including what to look for in an experienced personal injury attorney. The book is presented in a sometimes humorous, straightforward way. It is a very practical guide for injury accident victims. Again, these books are available free of charge only to Utah automobile accident victims, and they can be obtained free of charge through the toll-free number or by completing the form on this site. (CLICK HERE)