Tampa Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

Employers with less than four employees (except those in the construction industry) do not have to carry workers' compensation coverage, although they can if they wish to. Employers who carry workers' compensation insurance are generally immune from a negligence suit by an injured employee. 

The system was designed to give employers affordable insurance coverage for employee injuries, while at the same time giving workers a quick, efficient method of recovery for work-related injuries. In doing so, both employers and employees gave up some of the legal rights they would enjoy in a strict negligence claim.

 Injured workers do not have to prove their employer's negligence caused their injuries, and in exchange, the worker gives up recovering monetary damages for pain, suffering, scarring, loss of earning capacity, and psychiatric impairment.

As it stands now, the system is very much skewed in the employer's favor. This has largely occurred through a series of legislative revisions to the workers' compensation statute. These changes were designed to make Florida more business friendly by further limiting employee's rights under the law and thereby reducing the workers' compensation premiums paid by employers.

 While the legislative changes have reduced premiums, they have done so by reducing the benefits workers receive and restricting their access to the courts. 

The new legislation has limited physician choice, stops permanent and total disability benefits at age 75, forces injured workers to pay for their own independent medical examinations, and reduces carrier-paid attorney's fees to the point where even hiring a lawyer becomes difficult.