Yes. Though it is technically permissible for an injured worker to represent himself, it is a practical impossibility to do so. Only a lawyer can represent an injured worker at a workers' compensation hearing. It will also require a lawyer to take the necessary deposition of the workers' doctor and to cross-examine the employer's doctor and other witnesses. Someone untrained in workers' compensation law would not know the critical questions to ask all of which have legal significance. Virtually everyone who applies for workers' compensation benefits must have a workers' compensation lawyer to represent them.