CALIFORNIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION
What is Workers’ Compensation?
California workers’ compensation law, passed by the state Legislature more than 85 years ago, guarantees prompt, automatic benefits to workers injured on the job. Before workers’ compensation, injured workers had to sue their employers to recover medical costs and lost wages. Lawsuits took months and sometimes years. Juries and judges had to decide who was at fault and how much, if anything, would be paid. Too often, the injured worker got nothing. It was costly, time consuming and unfair. Today, workers’ compensation is faster and fairer. If you cannot work because of a job injury, workers’ compensation pays your medical bills and provides money to help replace your lost income until you can return to work.
What is Covered?
Any injury or illness caused by your job is covered – everything from first-aid type injuries to serious accidents. Job-related illnesses are covered to some extent. For example, common colds and flue are not covered, but if you catch tuberculosis while working at a TB hospital, that is covered. Workers’ compensation may even cover psychiatric injuries that may arise if you are the victim of a crime at your workplace. The key is whether the injury or illness is caused by your job.
Do I Need an Attorney to File a Workers’ Compensation Claim?
It is not necessary to retain an attorney to file a workers’ compensation claim and in many cases, an attorney is never hired. For minor claims such as strains, sprains, cuts and bruises, there is often no need for legal representation. Further, even if it is determined that you will have permanent disability, many cases run very smoothly with little or no complications and can be handled without the use of an attorney. The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board has a special department to assist applicants with general information on claims. This assistance is free. In Sacramento, the telephone number for the Information and Assistance Office of the Workers' Compenstion Appeals Board is (916) 263-2741.
When Should I Consult an Attorney?
The need for hiring an attorney varies for each case. In some cases, however, you may wish to consult with a Workers' Compentaion attorney to assist you. Generally, the time to hire an attorney is when it is determined that you will likely have significant disability. Such determination can be made if you will need surgery or some other substantial invasive type of treatment. A workers’ compensation attorney is only paid based on the level of permanent disability found in a claim and therefore, an attorney will likely only consider taking on a case if it is clear that there will be significant permanent disability expected. Other complex issues may also trigger the need for an attorney, including disagreement on the level of permanent disability, apportionment of disability to pre-existing or underlying conditions, vocational rehabilitation issues, disagreement as to how the injury occurred and whether or not it is an industrial injury, and complications with authorization of medical treatment or payment of benefits.
If you were injured at work and you need the assistance of a certified specialist in Workers' Compensation call Attorney Bart L. Mehlhop at (916) 930-9675.
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