The workers’ comp benefits offered following a work-related injury are essential to helping you during this very stressful time. A workplace injury can force you to stop working and the lost wages along with healthcare costs can quickly drain even the most prepared family.
Fortunately, workers compensation is designed to help alleviate some of these concerns and help you get back on your feet. The following article will highlight how workers comp benefits work and how you can claim them.
It is important to remember that it is always recommended that you hire a California workers’ compensation attorney to assist you through the process. The experience and skill of a workers comp lawyer can help you get the benefits you are entitled to. Be sure to contact Gold Country Workers Comp Center if you have any more questions.
How To Claim Workers Compensation
Workers comp (often mislabeled “Workman’s Compensation” or “Workman’s Comp”) is a kind of insurance that employers carry to protect themselves from legal liability in the event that an accident occurs while an employee is providing any expected service to the employer, whether in the workplace during working hours or not. The injured worker is legally entitled to workers’ comp benefits to help pay for medical bills, current/future economic losses due to the injury, dependent benefits, and disability payments.
The benefits you receive are based on the circumstances surrounding the work-related injury, the nature and extent of your injury, your average earnings and the admissible medical evidence (not all medical reporting is admissible). If your employer is illegally uninsured, you can both accept workers’ comp benefits from the insurance company AND sue the employer in civil court for negligence, which by law, the employer cannot defend by arguing you assumed the risk of injury or were in whole or part negligent yourself in causing the injury.
Insurance companies will virtually never offer what you are really entitled to, however. This is why it is important to hire an experienced workers comp lawyer to ensure you receive what you deserve.
Receiving Your Workers Comp Benefits
It may seem tempting at first to simply accept whatever settlement the insurance company offers you. However, this is not recommended. The insurance company will do everything they can to pay out as little as possible to workers comp claimants. And insurance claims adjusters know about how to influence the evaluation process against you, as well as how to convince you that you are getting everything you are entitled to, AND often will discourage you from seeking legal advice.
Adjusters know the system well and also employ a team of skilled lawyers that are virtually impossible for a layman to negotiate with. You may also need to take the claim, or part of it, to trial. A workers comp attorney is committed and trained to fight for the benefits you are entitled to and will virtually always produce a better result even accounting for their fee.
They can also reduce the likelihood that your claim is rejected in the initial stages after injury. The letters and information the adjuster sends to injured workers is complicated and difficult to understand. This problem often leads to missed deadlines and incomplete filings which the insurance company will take advantage of.
Hiring a workers comp lawyer will ensure every necessary document is filed and on time. A workers comp lawyer will represent you during the negotiations with the insurance company lawyers. They understand how the insurance companies work and can help you during the negotiations.
In some cases, the claim may be taken to trial. Your attorney should not hesitate to try even small issues. If this occurs, your workers’ comp lawyer will represent you through the trial and can take care of all the proper motions and filings.
Never go after your workers’ comp benefits on your own and never settle for what the insurance company initially offers you. Contact Gold Country Workers Comp Center today to learn how we can help you receive the benefits you deserve and alleviate some of the pressure during the stressful time following a work-related injury. Call for a free consultation: (530) 362 7188.
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