Saunders, B. Shannon

Mr. Harris has vast experience in the field of workers' compensation. His practice focuses almost exclusively on workers' compensation, so he has encountered just about everything the system can present to an attorney. No matter how severe your injury is, Mr. Harris is prepared to help you get what you deserve from the workers' compensation system.

Mr. Harris' expertise has been recognized through some of the highest honors possible for attorneys who represent injured workers.

Mr. Harris' expertise in the field of workers' compensation has resulted in some of the most prestigious honors for attorneys who practice in the field of workers' compensation. Most notable among these honors was Mr. Harris's selection to be the Chair of the Ohio Association for Justice's Workers' Compensation Section in 2010-2011. The Ohio Association for Justice (OAJ) is the preeminent organization that fights for the rights of injured plaintiff's in the State of Ohio. Its Workers' Compensation Section is the primary organization that deals with statewide workers' compensation issues involving the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, the Industrial Commission, and the legislature. Mr. Harris also served as the vice chairman of the OAJ Workers' Compensation Section in 2009-2010, and is continually called upon by the organization to meet with the Bureau of Workers Compensation and other interested parties to advocate for the interests of injured workers.

Mr. Harris has also been honored by an appointment to the Workers' Compensation Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee appoints the members who sit on the board which oversees the Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Mr. Harris was appointed to the position by the Ohio State Senate in 2011. He considers the appointment a great recognition of his dedication to the field of workers' compensation.

Mr. Harris also serves as the editor-in-chief of the Workers' Compensation Journal of Ohio (WCJO). WCJO is the premier journal discussing issues that impact today's practice of workers' compensation. Mr. Harris both writes for and oversees the content of the journal. He writes frequently on the latest caselaw impacting the practice of workers' compensation and has also written numerous articles on workers' compensation topics, including, but not limited to, vocational rehabilitation, permanent total disability, post-traumatic stress disorder, and violations of specific safety requirements.

Jeffrey Harris has experiences which help him understand your injuries and how to deal with them.

The Harris Firm has been in existence for more than 30 years, and Jeffrey Harris has been around the firm and the practice of workers' compensation for nearly his entire life. This experience has helped Mr. Harris understand the needs of injured workers, and the steps necessary to provide the best assistance for those injured at work. Mr. Harris began aggressively preparing for a career in workers; compensation while in law school at the University of Cincinnati. As a law student, Mr. Harris began working at The Harris Firm. Quickly recognizing that that the practice of workers' compensation depends almost as much on medical issues as legal ones, Mr. Harris spent a significant amount of time with medical professionals during his time in law school. This included studying with physicians at the University of Cincinnati's Department of Occupational Medicine, as well as learning with other physicians around the Cincinnati area. As a result, Mr. Harris gained a far better understanding of medical issues than an attorney would acquire solely by attending law school. His experiences provided him with skills that help him in evaluating medical issues and dealing with doctors that are common in workers compensation claims.

Mr. Harris understands how important medical issues can be to the practice of law. As such, while he was still in law school, Mr. Harris decided that the opportunity to learn medical basics should be presented to other law students. Consequently, Mr. Harris took the unprecedented step of designing a course for the University of Cincinnati Law School which aimed to help future attorneys understand how to deal with medical issues. The result of Mr. Harris' endeavors was a course entitled “The Interaction of Medicine and Law.” The course was designed by Mr. Harris, and provided to students during his final year of law school. The course focused on the understanding medical issues, including those that injured workers face in the legal system.

Mr. Harris's involvement with medical-legal issues has continued throughout his practice. He regularly gives lectures to medical students and residents on medical issues common in the field of workers' compensation. Mr. Harris has even previously been honored with a position as an Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati's Department of Occupational Medicine. Over the years Mr. Harris has worked with physicians in the Department of Occupational Medicine on numerous occasions to help medical professionals gain a better understanding of the workers' compensation system.

SOME OF THE WAYS The Harris Firm CAN HELP YOU

Getting Your Medical Bills Paid

At The Harris Firm, we believe that the primary objective of the workers' compensation system is to get injured people healed. Unfortunately, the workers' compensation system often creates obstacles for injured workers who desire nothing more than to get the treatment they need. Jeffrey Harris has experience dealing with the medical issues that injured workers face in this system. Whether its denied treatment, denied bills, dealing with MCO's, or making sure that the proper forms are filed with workers' compensation, Mr. Harris knows what it takes to get your treatment moving forward. Mr. Harris believes in working with you and your doctor to get your claim moving forward. He also is not afraid to fight your MCO and the workers' compensation system when they have unfairly denied treatment in your case. If you need help getting the treatment you deserve the Harris Firm can help.

Getting the Correct Conditions Recognized in Your Claim

One of the most common issues that plagues injured workers is the Bureau of Workers' Compensation's failure to recognize their claim for the appropriate problems. Many claims are allowed for basic issues like sprains and sprains when the real problems are much more severe. What is worse, rather than updating the claims, workers compensation will simply deny treatment based on the fact that the more significant conditions are not recognized in the claim. The Harris Firm has significant experience in getting claims amended to recognize the conditions that are truly impacting injured workers. We work with you and your doctors to make sure that workers' compensation knows the conditions that should be recognized in your claim and authorizes treatment accordingly.

Getting You the Benefits You Deserve

When an individual suffers a work related injury, he/she also often faces financial loss. The Harris Firm does everything in its power to make sure that injured workers get compensated appropriately. Workers' Compensation offers a variety of different forms of compensation that injured workers may be able to pursue under certain circumstances. The forms of compensation include:

- Temporary Total Disability
- Permanent Partial Disability
- Permanent Total Disability
- Working Wage Loss
- Non Working Wage Loss
- Living Maintenance
- Compensation Related to Specific Safety Violations

If you want to know what types of benefits might be available to you, call The Harris Firm today.

Helping You Return to Work

A work injury can be a life altering experience. After an injury, many injured workers are simply unable to perform the same tasks they could perform prior to being hurt. Unfortunately, this often prevents injured workers from returning to their previous jobs. At The Harris Firm, we know how best to deal with situations where injured workers may have difficulties returning to their former positions of employment. We help injured workers take advantage of vocational rehabilitation and return to work services that are available under workers compensation. We also do everything in our power to make sure that injured workers get the compensation they deserve during the periods when they might be forced to look for new work following an injury. Don't let the workers' compensation system leave you jobless without assistance. Call the Harris Firm and let us help you take advantage of the return to work options that workers' compensation system provides.

Settling Your Claims

There comes a time in many claims where an injured worker wants to wrap things up and resolve his/her claim. When it comes time to settle a claim, an injured worker certainly wants to maximize the claims value. The Harris Firm has broad experience settling claims. When the time comes to settle a clam, we do everything in our power to make sure that injured workers get the results they deserve.