California Workers' Compensation Lawyers
California Workers' Compensation Lawyers with Proven-Results for Over 3 Decades
Call (888) 488-1391
Workers' Compensation
$2,500,000.00
Suarez v. PLI Marketing Solutions (settled on 3/2/2022) – Settlement involving a forklift operator who fell off a loading dock crushing his left upper extremity when his brakes failed.– TINA ESHGHIEH
What is Workers' Compensation?
California law also determines which employers must maintain workers’ compensation coverage. In some states, employers are only required to carry insurance if they have a certain number of employees or are engaged in a hazardous field of work. This is not the case in California.
If an organization hires even one employee, it is legally required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Doing this helps to ensure that these critical benefits are available to all California workers. Employers can qualify to “self insure,” meaning they have enough assets to pay injury claims without paying premiums for workers’ compensation insurance.
Who is Eligible For Workers' Compensation?
In order to qualify for workers’ compensation coverage, an employee must prove that his or her injury occurred while on the job. Doing this is easy if the injuries result from a single accident in the workplace while the employee was on the clock. But workers’ compensation claims are not always this straightforward. What if the employee was running an errand?
If the errand was at the direction of the employer, the worker is still eligible for workers’ compensation coverage, even if the accident did not occur on the employer’s premises. What if the employee clocked out but was still performing a task for the employer?
This, too, is a situation that should result in workers’ compensation coverage. As you can imagine, workers’ compensation insurance companies sometimes fight claims that occur in these “gray areas.” Because of this, it is so essential to hire your own workers’ compensation attorney who knows how to prove that your employer is liable for your injuries.
Workers’ compensation is also available when your injuries did not occur from a single accident. Sometimes, workers experience a “cumulative injury” from repeated actions in the workplace. A typical example is carpal tunnel syndrome. This condition does not occur in a single day.
Instead, it is a condition that develops after months or years of repeated stress on your wrists. If you can prove that this stress occurred in the workplace (for example, by working at a computer for forty hours per week), then the injury should be covered by workers’ compensation insurance. Many cumulative injuries involve workers who were exposed to toxic substances in the workplace. Miners can develop black lung disease after years in the mines.
Many workers have developed mesothelioma and other cancers after years of exposure to asbestos in the workplace. These chronic conditions are expensive, and victims have the legal right to be compensated for their losses. But it is critical that you have an experienced lawyer who can prove that your workers’ compensation claim should be covered.
What Does Workers' Compensation Pay For?
Workers' Compensation
$6,800,000.00
Does v. California Farm (confidential) –settlement for a group of farmworkers who were killed when the car they were transported in to work flipped over in Merced County.– BENNY KHORSANDI
How Long Can I Receive Workers' Compensation Benefits?
If you are able to return to some work with limitations (such as limited hours or no heavy lifting), you are permanently partially disabled. State law provides different forms of compensation for permanent total disabilities and permanent partial disabilities.
It is essential to understand that you could reach MMI before hitting 105 weeks of workers’ compensation benefits. Your doctor does not have to wait to rate your disabilities. When the disability rating occurs, the insurance company might not accept your doctor’s opinion. They have the right to pay for an independent medical examination (IME) performed by a qualified medical provider.
At the IME, the insurance company’s doctor will evaluate your injuries to determine the disability rating. If the IME doctor’s disability rating is different from your own doctor’s, your attorney will have to challenge the insurance company’s doctor’s opinion. If the insurance company still refuses to accept your doctor’s disability rating, you might have to appeal your case through the administrative appeals process in the state workers’ compensation program. The issue may even go to court. Your injury lawyer will advise you on the best way to get all the compensation you deserve for permanent workplace injuries.
Experienced, Aggressive California Injury Lawyers For Workers' Compensation Cases
We have collected over 400 million dollars for clients across the state. We serve clients in San Francisco, Riverside, San Jose, San Diego, Sacramento, Sherman Oaks, and throughout California. Call (888) 488-1391 or contact us online to schedule your free consultation. We fight hard to protect your legal right to compensation so you can focus on recovering from your injuries as soon as possible.
