I know this is probably a silly thing to be stuck on but it's been holding me back for weeks now and I need to just put it out there. I work at a warehouse in Highland, been there about six years doing order picking and forklift work. About four months ago I was driving a forklift when a pallet of heavy boxes that had been stacked wrong started to tip. I tried to steady it with my arm and ended up wrenching my shoulder so badly I tore my rotator cuff and needed surgery. The surgery itself went okay but now the insurance company is giving me a hard time about the physical therapy and they sent me to one of their doctors who said I should be fine to go back to full duty when my own surgeon says I'm not even close. I've been going back and forth with them for weeks and I'm getting nowhere. I mentioned this to my brother in law who's a cop and he said I should stop messing around and talk to a lawyer because the insurance company is never going to take me seriously if I'm just calling them myself. But here's the thing—I'm already barely scraping by on reduced paychecks and I'm terrified of adding another bill to the pile. I don't have extra money sitting around for a lawyer and I don't want to get into something I can't afford. My brother in law said that most workers comp lawyers work on contingency so you don't pay anything upfront, and that I could at least do a free consultation work injury lawyer Highland NY just to see what my options are without committing to anything. That sounds reasonable but I'm still nervous. I've never had to deal with anything like this before and I don't want to end up in a situation where I owe money I don't have. Has anyone here done one of those free consultations and found it helpful without feeling pressured to sign up for something? I just need to know if I'm making a bigger deal out of this than it is or if I really do need to get someone involved.
