Workers’ Compensation
Prime Legal Firm’s workers’ compensation lawyers provide hands-on service for injured workers, ensuring that each client gets the personal attention and fully qualified counsel they deserve. We take pride in being able to deliver big firm results in a small firm atmosphere where you, our client, is put first.
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
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How to proceed if your case has been denied
- What to do if medical treatment has been denied
- How to best protect your job after you make a work injury claim
- How to receive the maximum allowable benefits under the California Labor Code
We can assist you determine your eligibility, carefully prepare the necessary legal paperwork, guide you through the workers’ compensation system, represent you before the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and ultimately ensure you receive all benefits and the most favorable resolution of your claim.
If you have suffered from an on-the-job accident, work-related illness or believe you have suffered physical or emotional injuries which developed over the course of your employment, you may be entitled to compensation for lost wages/salary, medical expenses and other benefits.
BENEFITS YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR
Workers’ compensation benefits packages may vary slightly from state to state or from occupation to occupation in rare cases. For the most part, a person who qualifies for benefits or their qualifying family members will be able to receive compensation in four main forms to help them live a comfortable life.
Your coverage likely includes:
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Medical: You can get financial assistance to help pay for whatever medical bills your health insurance has not covered. However, accepting medical benefits through workers’ compensation may not permit you to choose what doctor sees you.
- Temporary disability: You may be able to collect compensatory wages while you recover for wages you missed. Temporary disability benefits will begin after missing days or weeks of work due to your injury preventing you from completing normal tasks.
- Permanent disability: When a doctor diagnoses that you will never fully recover from your injury and therefore can never work safely, you can qualify for permanent disability benefits that help pay for medical costs and day-to-day expenses.
- Death: When a loved one dies due to a work-related injury, surviving spouses and children can collect death benefits, which may cover funeral expenses and a portion of wages the decedent should have earned in their lifetime.
OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESSES & WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS
Not all workers’ compensation claims will be based on a physical injury that can be readily identified, such as a bone fracture or laceration. Many workers are exposed to dangerous chemicals, substances, and diseases on a regular basis, such as doctors and nurses, and they may subsequently become ill from their employment. When this occurs, it is known as an occupational illness and it qualifies the worker for benefits if the illness is chronic or strong enough to prevent them from working. In high-stress level jobs, such as a police officer or firefighter, mental anguish, and heart attacks can sometimes be considered an occupational illness.
TYPICAL WORKER’S COMPENSATION PROCESS
Filing for workers’ compensation after being hurt at work can be a complicated process. Doing or saying the wrong thing can make your ability to collect benefits more difficult, or it may shift some liability onto you. Understanding the process, from start to finish, can help smooth things over should you ever need to make a claim.
- Step 1: You must inform your employer about your accident as soon as possible. They will need to either create a written document of your claim or provide you with the means and time to do so. If your employer should have reasonably known about your work-related injury – such as if you slipped and fell in front of other employees, customers, and closed-circuit television cameras – your immediate report might not be necessary; it is better to be safe than sorry, though, and you should always make an effort to notify a superior.
- Step 2: Filing the claim is largely your employer’s responsibility. Once they know an employee has been injured while at work or performing work-related duties, they need to notify their own insurance provider within a certain amount of time, sometimes less than 48 hours.
- Step 3: The insurance provider may wish to conduct its own investigation into your accident and injury. Be sure to cooperate with them when reasonable but do not provide any information that could be unfairly biased to make you seem negligent. The safe bet is to allow the attorneys at Prime Legal Law Firm to act on your behalf throughout this process. If their investigation completes in your favor, your claim will be validated and accepted.
- Step 4: Before you accept a final and maximized benefit amount or settlement, you need to get a full doctor’s evaluation of your condition or injury. If you do not, you risk not receiving enough compensation for the full duration of your disability. Maximum medical improvement (MMI) is the technical term for when you have recovered as much as you can from an injury. Reaching MMI is necessary to know if your workers’ compensation benefits will cover you or not.
- Step 5: Many workers’ compensation filings are initially denied due to a typo or other minor clerical error. Working with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney can help you avoid such preventable mistakes, as well as prepare your appeal case if you are denied for any reason.
GETTING YOU THE PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE YOU NEED
While it may be clear that you are owed ample workers’ compensation benefits to help you cover your medical expenses, missed time at work, and other losses, the reality is that the Labor Code can be convoluted and frustrating. The team of workers’ compensation attorneys at Prime Legal Firm stay up to date on all the latest legal developments. We offer the fully prepared, proven guidance you need to navigate the workers’ compensation process—even if your claim has already been denied. Find out what your legal options are for getting full benefits. Making a false or fraudulent workers compensation claim is a felony subject to up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to $50,000 or double the value of the fraud, whichever is greater or by both imprisonment and fine.
Contact Prime Legal Firm today at (877) 999-5744 to schedule a no-cost, no-obligation consultation for your workplace or personal injury case.
No recovery, No Fee, which means if our lawyers don’t win your case, then you don’t pay!
Contact Us
For inquiries, please send our Legal Team a message by filling out the form. We respond to all inquiries within the next business day.
1100 West Town and Country Road Ste 1250 Orange, CA 92868
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Contact Us
For inquiries, please send our Legal Team a message by filling out the form. We respond to all inquiries within the next business day.