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Suffered a work injury in Long Beach? Talk with a workplace injury attorney

Find out what steps you need to follow if you have suffered a work-related injury in Long Beach and how to choose the right worker's compensation lawyer.

Don’t lose out on benefits. Get the compensation you deserve.

Worker’s compensation is a complex area of the law, with specific deadlines and legal standards that can be genuinely complicated. After an accident, you should focus on gaining a speedy recovery instead of dedicating your time and energy to solving legal issues. If you’re in need of guidance and legal representation regarding the compensation process, an experienced lawyer makes up for a great choice to help you along.

workplace injury attorney

Here’s what you need to do in case you suffer a work injury in Long Beach:

Step 1: Notify Your Employer of the Injury

It’s your obligation to notify your employer about the injury immediately after it occurs or as soon as you become aware of it (in case of cumulative injuries). The notice should be in writing and signed by the employee or someone who acts on the employee’s behalf (including an attorney).

However, simply giving the employer verbal notice of the sustained injury it’s enough the activate the employer’s obligation to provide you with a worker’s compensation form. Submitting a signed workers’ compensation claim form also checks the obligation to provide written notice of the injury.

It’s vital that you notify your employer within a maximum of 30 days from the initial date of the injury. Failure to provide notice about the accident in the first 30 days may cause you to lose the right to claim workers’ compensation.

Step 2: Complete the Workers’ Compensation Claim Form

The second step would be for you to fill in the “employee” section from the workers’ compensation form. In case your employer fails to provide you with a copy of the form, you can download it from the DWC1 website. Normally, you should be able to fill in the application quite easily. However, if you’re in doubt about certain sections of it, you should consult a specialist to guide you through the process. This way, you can successfully avoid any additional legal complications. It may also not be possible to come up with a comprehensive description of the injury without seeing a doctor first. In order to reduce the risk of attributing subsequent injuries to a job accident, it’s important that you write down all body parts that seem to have been affected by accident. After you fill in your part of the form, the employer is required to fill in the “employer” section and submit it to the employers’ workers’ compensation claims administrator.

Step 3: Participate in Settlement Discussions (if necessary)

Some employers are usually willing to negotiate a more favorable settlement for the employees willing to accept a compromise that will relieve them from the obligation of paying any medical treatment. In most cases, medical treatment is provided, and temporary disability is paid without the need to involve a compensation judge. However, when the disputes between injured employees and claim administrators cannot be solved through negotiation, a worker’s compensation judge might be asked to settle the dispute. After considering the evidence, the judge will decide over the disputed issues. Workers’ compensation hearings and appeals are subject to the same evidentiary and procedural rules and time limits as any other legal proceeding.

Step 4: Review the Decision and Decide Whether to Appeal

As previously mentioned, after considering the evidence, the judge will decide the disputed issues, including whether the injured employee had suffered a compensable injury. If the judge decides that the employee’s injury is compensable, it will also define the injured worker’s benefits. The court decision has to be issued a maximum of 30 after the trial end date. From then on, the case is submitted further to the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board. Employees are, in most cases, more fit to prevail if they opt-out of receiving legal advice before filing the adjudication application.

Do you need a workplace injury attorney? Fill out our 30-second questionnaire and discover how we can help you instantly.

Did you suffer a work injury in Long Beach or California? Schedule a free consultation with a worker’s compensation attorney and get professional representation with the personal attention you deserve.

FIND OUT IF YOU QUALIFY

What benefits are you entitled to?

Workers’ compensation insurance in the United States covers a total of five basic benefits.

Medical Care

The worker’s compensation law of California requires the claims administrators to pay for medical care required to cure or relieve the effects of a work injury. The doctors responsible for your treatment must follow the given guidelines known as “medical treatment utilization schedule”(MTUS). It is illegal for physicians or medical facilities to bill a worker if they are aware that the injury is or can be work-related.

Temporary disability benefits

Temporary disability benefits cover two-thirds of the pre-tax wages you miss while you are recovering from an injury you sustained on the job. Temporary disability payments begin when your appointed doctor says settles that you cannot do your normal work for more than three days or in case you get hospitalized overnight. Usually, the temporary disability benefits stop when you return to work or when your doctor decides that your injury has improved as much as possible.

Permanent disability benefits

Although most workers that suffer job injuries fully recover, some people continue to have medical problems for the rest of their life. However, permanent disability benefits are limited. For example, if you lose your income, the PD benefits you’ll receive may not cover the entire income you lost. The number of benefits you can receive in case you fit into this category will be determined by a variety of factors such as impairment level, the date of your industrial injury, or future earning capacity. A worker’s compensation or workplace injury attorney could help you gain a better understanding of the benefits you might claim in case you follow for permanent disability benefits.

Supplemental job displacement benefits

This benefit comes under the form of a non-transferable voucher that can be used to pay for educational retraining or skill enhancement at state-approved schools. The benefits are designed to cover fees necessary for tuition, books, or expenses required for training. Based on the level of the permanent disability

Death Benefits

Death benefits are payments made to the family and dependents of an employee that dies from a work-related injury. The amount of benefits one can receive in this case mainly depends on the number of total and partial dependents. More detailed information can be found on the official website.

Do you need a workplace injury attorney? Fill out our 30-second questionnaire and discover how we can help you instantly.

We’re here to ensure you’re receiving the right treatment and yield all the benefits you’re entitled to. Schedule a free consultation with a worker’s compensation attorney and get professional representation with the personal attention you deserve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Cumulative injuries and health conditions develop gradually as the result of performing repetitive actions or exposure to certain factors. Claiming workers’ compensation benefits for a cumulative injury can be a complicated process, given the fact that you might have to prove that your injury was caused by certain work-related circumstances or factors.
The law in California defines the date of a cumulative injury as:
  • The date the employee first “suffered a disability.”
  • The date the employee should have known that the disability was caused by work factors.
The basic worker’s compensation insurance will normally cover the following five benefits: Medical care, temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits, supplemental job displacement benefits, death benefits. Click here to read more about this topic.
As stated above, if your initial claim has been denied, it can be due to a minor error in the paperwork. You can schedule a free consultation with a work injury lawyer, that will guide you through the entire claim process.
If you suffered a work injury in Long Beach and did not file your worker’s compensation application in time, you’ll probably want to contact a workplace injury attorney. The law in this area is complex enough to allow for circumstances in which you might be excused for missing a deadline or benefit from a time-period extension.
During the hearing, you and your claims administrator (or their attorney) will appear before a judge. The judge will communicate with both parties and try to assist in reaching a settlement. If your case is not settled at MSC, you’ll have to go to trial, a process that will be managed by a different judge.
We’re always here to answer your questions. Click here to contact us or here to schedule a meeting. If you are unsure of your case qualifies, complete this form to find out.

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