I have frequently meet with injured workers who have an Oregon Workers' Compensation claim in progress. Many times, they bring along claims materials. Sometimes it is an envelope, and other times, a box. But many times, there is a Claims Disposition Agreement, or Disputed Claims settlement, all ready to be signed and sent back to the insurance company.
Many times, my soon-to-be clients are not really sure what these agreements mean. The dollar amounts may seem attractive, but what are they selling? It only makes sense that someone is in the dark, because like everything else in the Oregon Workers' Compensation system, things are way more complicated than they need to be.
It does not happen all the time, but some of the time, these agreements offer really bad, low, ridiculous, and completely unfair settlement amounts. I have even had clients tell me that the adjuster will hint around that the proposed settlement is a bad deal.
We cannot tell these folks whether to accept or reject these settlements without learning about the case, and that means reviewing the claims file. After a file review, we can help clients understand the settlement, and offer other possible options.
If you get one of these settlement agreements in the mail, call us at 503-325-8600. We can answer your questions. And if you do not want call us, call somebody! You need to know what you are signing.
