File Form AR-C with the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission within 2 years of the injury. If your boss is telling you to run it through your own health insurance instead, yes, that can be a trap.

Situation 1: It was clearly on the job, and the claim is being accepted. If your employer reports it, the workers' comp carrier authorizes treatment, and wage benefits start if you miss enough time, you may not need a lawyer right away. Arkansas workers' comp pays medical care and part of lost wages, but not pain and suffering. A decent case does not need a lawyer just to exist.

Situation 2: Your boss is stalling, telling you to "just use your insurance," or steering you hard. That is when you probably do need one. Health insurance companies hate paying work injuries and may later demand reimbursement. Meanwhile, the employer saves a workers' comp claim on its record. If you were hurt in a Jonesboro road work zone, around flaggers, lane shifts, or heavy equipment, and they are pressuring you to keep it "off the books," that is not kindness. That is damage control.

In Arkansas workers' comp cases, attorney fees are tightly controlled. On controverted benefits, the fee is generally 25%, and the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission must approve it. If a lawyer wants cash up front for a basic comp claim, that is a red flag.

Situation 3: Somebody besides your employer may have caused it. If a passing truck on a work zone edge clipped equipment, a subcontractor screwed up, or defective machinery crushed you, that is bigger than workers' comp. Along the I-40 freight corridor and on construction-heavy routes, third-party claims happen all the time. That is when hiring a lawyer matters fast, because evidence disappears.

Red flags: promises of "easy money," no explanation of fees, pressure to sign fast, or a lawyer who never talks strategy. You can fire a lawyer mid-case. Do it in writing. In Arkansas comp cases, any fee issue still goes through the Commission.