Workers’ Compensation Law

Injured at Work? Protect Your Right to the Benefits You Need.

A workplace injury can affect far more than your ability to do your job. Medical bills, lost income, uncertainty about returning to work, and disputes with an insurance company can quickly make an already difficult situation worse.

Eric Frankie represents injured workers throughout Southeast Michigan, helping them understand their rights and pursue the workers’ compensation benefits available under Michigan law.

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Help When a Workplace Injury Disrupts Your Life

Michigan’s workers’ compensation system is intended to provide important protections when an employee is injured or becomes ill because of their work. Depending on the circumstances, those protections may include medical treatment, wage-loss benefits, and vocational rehabilitation.

Unfortunately, obtaining those benefits is not always as simple as reporting an injury and filing a claim.

Questions may arise over whether an injury is work-related, what medical treatment is necessary, whether an employee can return to work, or how much wage loss should be paid. An insurance carrier may dispute a claim, challenge a doctor’s restrictions, require an independent medical examination, or attempt to reduce or terminate benefits.

When your health and income are at stake, understanding your rights matters. Eric Frankie helps injured workers navigate the workers’ compensation process, respond to disputes, and pursue the benefits they may be entitled to receive.

Workers’ Compensation Problems Eric Can Help Address

Workplace injuries and workers’ compensation claims can take many forms. Eric represents employees dealing with issues including:

Workplace Injuries & Occupational Illnesses

Injuries can result from a single workplace accident or develop gradually through repetitive work, physical demands, or exposure to workplace conditions. Eric can help evaluate whether an injury or illness may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.

Denied or Disputed Claims

An employer or insurance carrier may dispute whether an injury happened at work, whether employment caused or aggravated a condition, or whether benefits should be paid. A denial does not necessarily mean the matter is over.

Medical Treatment Disputes

Disagreements may arise over doctors, specialists, diagnostic testing, surgery, therapy, medication, or other treatment. Eric can help address disputes involving reasonable and necessary medical care related to a workplace injury.

Wage-Loss Benefits

A work injury may prevent an employee from working or limit the type of work they can perform. Eric helps workers address disputes involving lost wages, reduced earning capacity, benefit calculations, and interrupted payments.

Return-to-Work Issues

Returning to work while recovering from an injury can create difficult questions about medical restrictions, modified duties, light-duty assignments, and whether proposed work can safely be performed.

Reduced or Terminated Benefits

Insurance carriers may seek to reduce or stop benefits based on medical evaluations, a return-to-work determination, wage-earning capacity, or other issues. Eric can review the circumstances and help determine what options may be available.

Guidance Through Every Stage of a Workers’ Compensation Claim

How Eric Can Help

A workers’ compensation claim can involve your employer, an insurance carrier, medical providers, adjusters, and potentially the Michigan Workers’ Disability Compensation Agency. Eric helps clients understand what is happening and what needs to happen next.

Evaluate Your Claim

Eric can review the circumstances surrounding your injury, medical condition, employment, work restrictions, and benefits to help identify potential issues and explain your legal options.

Protect Your Access to Benefits

Workers’ compensation disputes can involve medical treatment, wage-loss payments, rehabilitation, and other benefits. Eric works to protect his clients’ interests when those benefits are questioned, delayed, reduced, or denied.

Deal With Insurance Company Disputes

Insurance companies have their own representatives protecting their interests. Eric can communicate with the carrier, evaluate its position, review medical evidence, and respond when a claim becomes disputed.

Represent You in Litigation

When a workers’ compensation dispute cannot be resolved informally, Eric can represent you through the mediation, hearing, negotiation, and litigation process necessary to pursue your claim.

Throughout the process, the goal is straightforward: help you understand your rights, make informed decisions, and protect your interests while you recover from your injury.

Why Work With Eric Franke

Experienced Representation

Workers’ compensation cases often involve both medical and legal questions, and the consequences can directly affect a worker’s health, livelihood, and future. Eric brings decades of legal experience and a hands-on approach to every client he represents.

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Over 33 Years of Legal Experience

Eric has practiced law in Michigan since 1992, bringing more than three decades of experience to the representation of individuals facing difficult legal problems.

Litigation & Trial Experience

When disagreements cannot be resolved, experience matters. Eric’s background in litigation and trial practice allows him to prepare cases with an understanding of what may ultimately be required to prove a claim.

Direct Representation

Clients work with Eric directly. He takes the time to understand the circumstances of the injury, answer questions, explain the legal process, and help clients understand the decisions in front of them.

Rooted in Southeast Michigan

Eric has spent his legal career practicing in Southeast Michigan and understands the courts, agencies, employers, insurers, and legal environment in which Michigan workers’ compensation disputes are handled.

You Don’t Have to Wait Until the Situation Gets Worse

Not every workplace injury requires a lawyer. But when questions or disputes begin to affect your medical care, income, or ability to return to work, speaking with an attorney can help you understand your options.

Consider contacting Eric if:

Your workers’ compensation claim has been denied or disputed.
Your wage-loss checks have stopped, been reduced, or appear incorrect.
You are having difficulty obtaining medical treatment for your work injury.
You have been ordered to attend an independent medical examination.
Your employer or insurance carrier says you are able to return to work, but your treating doctor disagrees.
You are being asked to perform work that appears inconsistent with your medical restrictions.
You have a pre-existing condition and the insurance company is questioning whether your job caused or aggravated your condition.
Your employer is discouraging you from reporting an injury or pursuing workers’ compensation benefits.
You believe you are being treated differently because you reported an injury or exercised your workers’ compensation rights.
You simply do not understand what the insurance company is doing or what you should do next.

Getting legal advice early can sometimes prevent a manageable problem from becoming a much larger dispute.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Workers’ Compensation Law

Do you have other questions? Book a consultation or send us a message and ask directly.

What types of workplace injuries may qualify for workers’ compensation?

Workers’ compensation is not limited to dramatic accidents such as falls or machinery injuries. A claim may involve an injury caused by a specific workplace event, an occupational illness, or a condition that develops or worsens because of work performed over time.

Whether a particular condition qualifies depends on the facts and the relationship between the employee’s work and the injury or illness.

What benefits may be available through workers’ compensation?

Depending on the circumstances, Michigan workers’ compensation may provide benefits for reasonable and necessary medical treatment, wage loss caused by a work-related disability, and vocational rehabilitation.

The benefits available and the amount of any wage-loss payments depend on the circumstances of the individual claim.

Can my employer choose my doctor?

In Michigan, the employer generally has the right to select the medical provider during the first 28 days of treatment. After that period, an injured worker may generally choose another qualified medical provider after notifying the employer and insurance carrier.

Disputes can still arise over whether particular treatment is reasonable, necessary, and related to the workplace injury.

What happens if my workers’ compensation claim is denied?

A denial does not necessarily end your claim.

Workers’ compensation disputes can arise over whether an injury is work-related, the extent of a disability, medical treatment, wage loss, or other issues. Depending on the circumstances, a disputed claim may be brought before the Michigan Workers’ Disability Compensation Agency for mediation or hearing.

An attorney can review the reason for the denial and help determine what evidence and legal action may be appropriate.

Can my employer fire me for filing a workers’ compensation claim?

Michigan law prohibits an employer from discharging or discriminating against an employee because the employee filed a workers’ compensation complaint, initiated a proceeding, or exercised rights provided under the Workers’ Disability Compensation Act.

That does not mean workers’ compensation law guarantees continued employment in every circumstance. Employment decisions can involve several different legal issues, which is why it is important to speak with an attorney if you believe your workplace injury or workers’ compensation claim played a role in an adverse employment decision.

When should I speak with a workers’ compensation attorney?

You may want legal advice whenever your claim becomes disputed or you are uncertain whether your rights are being protected.

Common warning signs include a denied claim, interrupted wage-loss benefits, problems obtaining medical treatment, conflicting medical opinions, pressure to return to work outside your restrictions, or concerns about how your employer is treating you after an injury.

An initial consultation can help you understand where you stand and whether legal representation makes sense for your situation.

Questions About a Workplace Injury or Workers’ Compensation Claim?

Start With a Conversation.

A work injury can leave you facing medical decisions, lost income, and an insurance process you never expected to navigate.

You do not have to figure it out alone.

Whether your claim has already been denied, your benefits have changed, or you simply want to understand your rights before taking the next step, Eric Frankie can review your situation and help you determine your options.

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