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Articles Tagged with Sacramento workers comp lawyer
How Long to File Workers Comp Claim California
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Workers’ Compensation Lawyer. When you are injured on the job in California, your employer is required by state law to cover treatment of your injuries via workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits can be completely denied if you do not file a workers’ compensation claim fast enough. As a general rule of thumb, I recommend that my clients notify their supervisors immediately when an accident occurs or when they are hurt in the workplace. Workers’ compensation injuries can involve single accidents, such as a fall, or injuries from repetitive work tasks, like back injuries caused by constant heavy lifting.
Notifying Your Employer Immediately of Your Injuries
When you experience pain, ask your manager how you go about reporting an injury. If you don’t notify your employer within 30 days after your injury occurred, you might lose your right to medical care assistance and payments!
How Long Do You Have to File Your Claim?
In order to receive workers’ compensation benefits, you must file a claim with the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC). Upon learning of your injury, your employer is required by California law to give you a DWC claim form within one day. But once you have that claim form, how long do you have to file it? Continue reading ›
How to Understand California Workers’ Compensation Law
How to Understand California Workers’ Compensation Law
California workers’ compensation law is an incredibly complex and confusing area of law, especially for individuals who are not licensed lawyers with years of experience such as myself. While this short post will provide you with some background on California workers’ compensation claims, it is not a substitute for hiring an attorney to guide you through the claims process and advocate for your just compensation.
Compromise and Release Settlement Amounts Ultimate Guide
How Compromise and Release Can Settle Your California Workers Compensation Case
A workplace injury caused by an unexpected accident can have unfortunate and lasting consequences for your health, finances, and career. In anticipation of and preparation for sudden on-the-job injuries, employers purchase what is known as workers’ compensation insurance.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance Providers
The effects of job injury can be fairly expensive – doctors’ bills, prescription medication, physical therapy, surgery, and lost wages can add up. Many employers, especially smaller ones, are unable to shoulder the cost of compensating employees for accidents that occur at the worksite.
That is where workers’ compensation insurance kicks in. Like how you make monthly payments to your car insurance company to help you prepare for damages and injuries caused by a car crash, employers pay premiums to workers’ compensation insurance companies. In exchange, the insurance companies handle workers’ compensation claims, including receiving, reviewing, and accepting or denying claims. The employer simply passes off any claims to its insurance provider. In a way, this system is beneficial for injured employees in California because employers should theoretically have little incentive to thwart the claims process when they are not responsible out-of-pocket for reimbursement to the employees. However, because claims go to insurance companies, there is often an impersonal, cold, and calculating approach to claims review that does not take into account how the injury has affected you and your loved ones.
File a California Workers Compensation Claim in Court
File a California Workers’ Compensation Claim in Court
When you are injured at work, your employer is responsible under California law to help you recover from the injuries by paying workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits are payments that cover a variety of different expenses, such as medical bills and lost wages. However, many employees are confused about how exactly they can get these benefits. Employers are often not very forthcoming with details on how to file workers’ compensation claims and may even provide intentionally false information to deter you from filing a claim. There are three main ways to pursue a workers’ compensation claim in California: (1) request reimbursement from the insurance company, or (2) file a case in court.
Claim Stipulation and Award for California Workers’ Compensation Cases
Claim Stipulation and Award for California Workers’ Compensation Cases
Under California workers’ compensation law, there are a variety of different types of agreements that you can enter into with your employer’s insurance company for coverage of injuries you sustained while on the job. One type of resolution is known as the claim stipulation and award. Before you discuss payment with your employer, however, your workers’ compensation claim needs to be approved. Below is a brief summary of the anatomy of a workers’ compensation claim in California.
Epidemiology of Trauma
Epidemiology of Trauma
According to the principles of medicine, trauma is a “disease” rather than an injury and, as such, is no different from malaria, heart disease, or cancer. It has degrees of severity and morbidity/mortality statistics just like other diseases. It is important to understand the epidemiology of trauma as it applies to different populations of people.
Serious and Willful Misconduct
Serious and willful misconduct
In the California Worker’s Comp System, occasionally there will be serious and willful misconduct, either on the part of the employer or on the part of the employee.
Workplace Slip-and-Fall Injuries
Workplace Slip-and-Fall Injuries
Have you ever had a slip-and-fall? I don’t know about you, but the first thing “I do” when I tumble is try to do it gracefully. The next order of business is to thrust my hands out in front of me (or in the back of me) and try to protect my face or backside. I am trying to break my fall rather than my nose or tailbone. Once I contact the solid ground (ouch), I look around, hoping no one saw what just went down. Even if my fall was not seen — it probably was felt and heard. Thump, bump-bump….expletive!
Who is entitled to Death Benefits in California Workers Comp?
Death benefits in California Workers comp system are awarded to temporarily or permanently injured employees who later die from the work injury.
Dependents are also entitled to burial benefits.