Emery Reddy is a relatively new firm on the Seattle labor law scene, but that hasn’t stopped them from making a big bang right out of the gate.
Recently awarded the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating, managing partner Timothy Emery and the rest of the firm have been taking on and winning cases against big employers and the state Department of Labor and Industries since 2005.
Emery isn’t the only attorney at the firm to gain recognition recently. Associate attorneys William H.P. Fuld and Amanda Masters were each designated as Washington state Rising Stars by the Super Lawyers rating agency. And the firm itself has gotten top marks from national ratings lists including:
- Avvo
- CV Magazine
- The National Trial Lawyers
- America’s Top 100 Attorneys
More importantly, the firm is widely recognized as one of the preeminent worker’s compensation firms in Washington state by other attorneys, experts, and potential clients.
Expertise and knowledge can only get you so far; it also takes professionalism and hard work for founders Timothy Emery and Patrick Reddy and the rest of the team to make navigating Washington state’s worker’s comp system look easy.
Navigating the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries Claim Process Requires Expert Assistance
There’s no reason for a backhoe operator to have any expertise in filing L&I claims or shepherding their case through the byzantine L&I claim and rehab process. But that’s what thousands of injured workers are asked to do every year on their own when they get in an accident or experience chronic pain as a result of repetitive stress injuries.
In fact, there is widespread misunderstanding of the claims process and worker’s rights that consistently trips up injured workers as they attempt to get assistance.
A 2007 survey of injured workers in Washington conducted by Gilmore Research illustrates some of the hazards. Almost 40 percent of respondents delayed seeking medical attention for a week or more after the injury. Many, particularly those with lower education or income, reported feeling pressure to visit a company doctor instead of their own providers.
Few of them understand that among the best things they can do immediately is engage a firm like Emery Reddy to help walk them through the process.
Professional Guidance Makes The Process Less Painful
Hundreds of workers just need a knowledgeable advocate in their corner. The big six-figure judgments make the headlines, but the way that Emery Reddy really makes a measurable difference in the lives of clients tends to be smaller, but perhaps even more meaningful.
The firm’s lawyers are no strangers to dealing with claims managers, vocational rehabilitation counselors, therapists, attending physicians, and the various offices and forms that come along with all those people. They understand the deadlines and the importance of gathering evidence to support the claim early on before the waters are muddied by various treatment plans or aggravating circumstances.
Although the Gilmore report found no systematic evidence of employer pressure to avoid filing or pursuing claims, just getting through the system for ensuring that medical treatment is covered and getting vocational rehab and return to work plans that are palatable and achievable exerts its own sort of pressure. Reputable and knowledgeable attorneys like those at Emery Reddy can remove that pressure.
It’s The Small Stuff That Makes The Biggest Difference For Emery Reddy Clients
Six figure judgments in favor of the firm’s clients glow on the resumes of the attorneys working there. But more important than the awards, perhaps, are the smaller cases, the ones that don’t make it to trial or consist mostly of administrative law maneuvers with L&I case managers.
You don’t get a big judgment in worker’s compensation cases unless you have really suffered a serious and lasting injury. Most of the claimants in those cases would gladly swap their awards in a heartbeat to have their old level of physical mobility and jobs back.
The firm’s lawyers provide injured workers with a reassuring voice as they dispute treatment plans and arbitrary decisions made by case managers. These aren’t cases that make for big headlines, but they are the ones that can make the biggest differences in the quality-of-life for injured workers.
Court Cases Are The Last Resort But Carry The Biggest Stakes in Worker’s Compensation Disputes
All the same, all of the handholding and phone calls don’t carry a lot of weight without the big stick of possible litigation to back it up.
This is an area where Emery Reddy has another edge over most Washington state labor law firms. Their winning record in the courtroom has employers and case managers thinking twice about opening up disputes.
A boom in Seattle-area construction has lead to a concurrent surge in construction-related injuries. Big, self-insured construction companies have a certain macho approach to on-the-job injuries that isn’t always in line with the strictures of the state’s Industrial Insurance Act.
Emery Reddy attorney Jason Hoeft has made those companies pay repeatedly with six-figure settlements in construction-related injury cases.
That kind of track record builds the odds for future successes. Settlements are preferable to the risks of a trial in almost every case, but Emery Reddy’s ability to win in the courtroom pushes those settlement odds higher with every success.
In a short time, the team at Emery Reddy have become the worker’s compensation lawyers to reckon with in Washington state. As one of the larger firms in that practice area now, Emery Reddy is the first phone call for many people involved in workplace accidents today.
