If you’ve been injured on the job, the nature of your injury may be such that you’re unable to do the same job after your recovery and/or rehabilitation is completed. This can be especially true when an accident in the workplace results in serious injury such as crushed limbs or multiple broken bones that require surgery and that may have had an impact on the surrounding muscles, organs, and nerves. Injuries such as this can permanently affect your overall health.
The rule of thumb for workplace injuries is that, the more severe the injury, the increased likelihood that the injury will not only affect your present earning potential, but any future earnings from this type of employment. If this is the case, you may be entitled to permanent disability benefits.
However, the workers’ comp carrier involved in your case will be looking out for their best interests and not yours. Therefore, it’s essential that you have an experienced workers’ comp attorney in your corner at the very beginning of the claims process to ensure that your best interests are being well-represented and that you are being afforded every right that is yours under California’s workers’ compensation laws. At Gold Country Workers Comp Center our focus is on workers’ comp and disability claims. Attorney Kim LaValley and staff have many years of experience when it comes to successfully litigating these types of cases.
Here at Gold Country Workers’ Comp, we can help you feel secure in the knowledge that the right decisions are being made to maximize your benefit package in a time when we know you really need the support. Following is a discussion of some of the critical issues that typically arise after an industrial injury.
You have legal rights and important decisions to make
If you’re unable to return to the same job after your workplace injury, you have legal rights in California. Under Section 4658 of the California Labor Code, you may be entitled to permanent disability payments if you do not recover completely and if your injury has resulted in measurable permanent physical or mental impairments. As per the code, the amount and duration of your benefits are determined by the extent of your disability as evaluated by a “Qualified Medical Evaluator” or “QME.” The QME will also detail your work restrictions to allow your employer to determine if they can re-employ you.
For this and many other purposes, an attorney can help insure you’re evaluated by the right doctor in the right area of specialization. Very rarely and, for very technical reasons, would I ever advise a client to use an orthopedist as a QME. It is VERY important for you to choose the right area of medical specialization. Do NOT allow the insurance carrier to choose the doctor. They know the reputations and biases of the various doctors whereas you do not. Many QMEs are very conservative in their perspective of whether an injury occurred as well as the levels of impairment that it caused.
If you do not respond quickly to an offer to see a QME, you will be at a significant disadvantage by allowing your employer or their insurance adjuster to choose the area of medical specialization and/or doctor in your case.
The QME details your medical restrictions for purposes of the “interactive process” noted just below and to allow your employer to determine if you can return to work for them again.
If your employer has five or more employees, he or she must proceed with a legally required “Interactive Process.” This is a formal discussion with you about your work restrictions and, if there is an available job within those restrictions that you are qualified to do, your employer must offer it to you as an alternate job or modified job.
Regardless of how many employees your employer has, for injuries after 2012, once your condition stabilizes, and becomes “permanent and stationary” or reaches maximal medical improvement, your employer must offer you a job paying 85% or more of your pre-injury earnings, guaranteed for a year, and close to your former work site. If your employer doesn’t make that offer for any reason, including, of course, your medical restrictions, you are entitled to payment for retraining under Section 4658.7 of the California Labor Code. This includes payment for tuition, fees, books, and other expenses for retraining. In addition, licensing and professional certification fees, exam, and exam prep fees are also included where applicable, BUT only up to $6000. (The rules are different for pre-2013 injuries.)
If your employer takes any action against you, including declining to rehire you for the sole reason that you have filed a claim, they are guilty of discrimination under the Labor Code.
While you have legal protection under the California Workers’ Compensation Laws, workers’ comp and disability claims have strict requirements about how and when to file as well as a variety of different deadlines that must be met. In addition, it can be confusing when it comes to the different types of disability that you may be entitled to — workers’ comp benefits, temporary vs permanent disability benefits, EDD State Disability benefits and Social Security disability benefits. Your best option to successfully navigate the claims process is to retain the services of the skilled attorneys at Gold Country Workers Comp Center.
Get our advice
Serious injuries in the workplace often result in an employee being unable to return to the same job that he or she did before the accident. While recovering from your injury should be your top priority, the thought of not being able to return to your current job and what that will mean for your future can be distressing.
Contact workers’ comp attorney Kim LaValley at Gold Country Workers’ Comp Center to schedule your free consultation. Our compassionate and knowledgeable staff will work diligently to ensure that you receive all the compensation and benefits to which you are entitled.
