Did you suffer an injury at your worksite or while you were performing a work-related task? Most likely, you are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. By now, you may have filed a claim and received a denial from the insurance company. If you believe that your claim was denied without legal justification, you need legal advice from a work accident injury attorney.
For assistance with a workers’ compensation claim in California, don’t hesitate to contact our law firm. Our employment lawyers have a steady track record of representing injured workers and obtaining the benefits they deserve by law. To discuss your current situation and the legal options you can take, reach out to us for a consultation, completely free of charge.
What is Workers’ Comp?
Essentially, workers’ compensation is a safety net for those who end up being injured as a result of their employment. The benefits are offered by each state, but managed by a private insurance company that sells the insurance coverage to your employer.
The truth is, accidents at work can happen for all sorts of reasons, even if the worker has taken every measure of care to prevent such incidents. People can also end up with work injuries through repetitive motions and overexertion. Regardless of the reason, an injury on the job means you are unable to work or must reduce your work hours for an extended period of time.
By filing a workers’ compensation claim, you can receive benefits like temporary disability payments and cost of medical services. This way, the burden of not being able to work is alleviated for you and your family members. Aside from taking care of the worker, the system has benefits for the employer as well. Primarily, workers cannot sue the employer for an accident at work, since there is a system in place that offers compensation.
What are the Top 10 Workers’ Compensation Cases?
While you are working, there are many circumstances that can cause you to be injured. Thus, workers’ comp cases fall into various categories, and it would be impossible to cover every single one. Instead, let’s take a look at the 10 most common types of workers’ comp claims in California:
- Car accidents: most common among truck drivers, delivery workers, and technicians that go from one location to another. These accidents often result in serious injuries that require extensive medical care, extended leave, and modifications in work duties, at least on a temporary basis.
- Machinery accidents: workers in settings like factories use machinery that can cause severe or deadly injuries. Crushing injuries are common, along with permanent disfigurement and loss of fingers or limbs.
- Bodily reactions: these accidents can happen anywhere, since they are associated with an involuntary reaction to protect yourself from harm. If, for example, you slip on water that leaked from an air conditioner, you may put out your hand to break the fall, which results in a wrist fracture.
- Fall accidents: slip and falls and trip and falls are extremely common workplace accidents due to the preponderance of hazards at any work setting that can cause people to fall.
- Falling from an upper level: employees that work on elevated levels, like ladders or building roofs, are vulnerable to catastrophic injuries if they fall and drop down to the ground
- Overexertion: typically associated with manual labor, such as working in factories. Torn ligaments, muscle strains, and nerve damage are possible injuries when someone overexerts themselves.
- Repetitive motions: doing the same tasks for multiple hours a day, 5 or more days a week can cause all sorts of cumulative use injuries, whether you work in an office or restaurant.
- Hit by falling objects: warehouses and construction sites have the highest rate of falling object injuries, but these are accidents that can happen in any work environment. All employees are at risk of something falling off the wall, ceiling, roof, etc. and resulting in various injuries.
- Striking a stationary object: this category of accidents involves the employee hitting a stationary object or surface, like a wall or heavy piece of machinery.
- Workplace violence: examples of workplace violence include crimes, like being assaulted during a robbery. People can also be harmed by coworkers with malicious intent.
As you can see, work accidents do not fall neatly into one mold, and that’s why each case has to be examined on an individual basis. It’s also worth noting that some cases are much more complex than others and need further scrutiny from medical experts and the insurance company. If you have questions or concerns about a job-related accident, contact our team of workers’ compensation lawyers.
Real-Life Workers’ Compensation Claims with a Lasting Impact
Laws that protect workers in the event of an accident did not happen overnight. And the rules and policies governing workers’ comp continue to evolve thanks to landmark decisions in court cases, such as:
Hill v. American Medical Response. Because of this law, a permanent disability must be evaluated according to the most recent edition of American Medical Association (AMA).
Burke v. Raven Elec. The ruling of this lawsuit upheld that parents cannot seek workers’ compensation benefits for the death of their child unless the parents were financially dependent on the decedent at the time of death.
Burgoin v. Twin Rivers Paper Co. A lawsuit that affirmed the rights of the employer, mainly that they are not required to cover medical marijuana costs as part of medical expenses for a WC claim.
Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Los Angeles County Superior Court. Concerning the definition of an independent contractor, which is defined as someone who is 1) free of the employer’s control; 2) performs work outside the company’s usual course of business; and 3) works independently without direct supervision of the employer.
Ehr v. West Bend Mut Ins. Co. This case strengthens protections for injured employees in cases where the employer’s negligence may allow the employee to sue for a workplace accident / injury. Essentially, the employee may be allowed to sue in cases where protections offered by workers’ comp are inadequate, based on the employer’s actions that led to the incident.
Johnson v. U.S. Food Serv. The guidelines that determine a permanent disability must come from the 4th
King v. Compartners, Inc. A lawsuit that upholds immunity for utilization reviewers for a workers’ compensation claim, meaning they cannot be sued by the injured employee.
Marquez v. Pierce Painting, Inc. In the determination of a worker’s level of permanent disability for a workers’ compensation claim, the insurance company cannot consider the employee’s status as an undocumented individual.
Strickland v. Stephens Prod. Co. Owners and operators of oil and gas wells are classified as intermediate / principal employers for any work performed on their site that caused physical harm to an employee.
Lawler & Cole CPAs, LLC v. Cole. Murder is considered an intentional, rather than accidental event. However, this lawsuit held that murder occurring within the course of employment counts as an accident injury for the purpose of worker’s compensation. As a result, surviving spouses and family of the deceased worker can seek benefits through the workers’ compensation system.
These cases illustrate how workers’ compensation rights are constantly evolving and many of the changes favor the employee rather than the employer. A workplace accident lawyer at our office can talk to you about your rights and help you determine the best way to move forward.
Contact Us for Advice and Guidance
At the end of the day, workers’ compensation is something most of us take for granted, along with the idea that insurance companies are here to help us. In reality, getting your claim approved or receiving all the payments you are entitled to may not be so simple.
If you need help from a lawyer that specializes in work injuries and accident claims, look no further than Normandie Law Firm. We have a proven track record of settlements and jury verdicts on behalf of California workers, and we are more than ready to take immediate action on your case.
You may have concerns about how much we will charge you for a workers’ compensation claim. Rest assured that we operate on contingency, meaning we do not charge you any fees out of pocket. Until the recovery of your settlement, we make absolutely nothing. Plus, you will not lose a single cent if we lose your case under the terms of the Zero Fee Guarantee.
Please get in touch with us at your earliest convenience and schedule a free case review.
