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What does a Workers’ Compensation Attorney do?
Have you been involved in an accident at work that leaves you injured? When you notified your employer of the incident have they reached out and given you the proper information to file a workers’ compensation claim? Are you struggling to understand the filing paperwork or have filed and gotten a denial notice? Is your employer not taking responsibility and denying your claim? Have you been let go from your job due to your work injury?
If you answered yes to any of the following it is time to contact a workers’ compensation attorney.
Below we will discuss the main reasons you want to discuss your claim with an experienced workers’ comp attorney to ensure you get the maximum benefits that you deserve.
I’ve Been Injured, What’s Next?
2.8 million on the job injuries occur every year. Close to a million of those accidents result in injuries that require days off of work.
When you suffer an injury here’s the first things you must do:
- Seek medical help and inform the medical professionals that you sustained the injury at work.
- Inform your employer – This is a crucial step. You must inform your employer as soon as possible or within 30 days to make sure you are able to receive benefits if eligible.
- File your claim – Your employer has one working business day to respond to your notice of injury with a workers claim form (DWC-1 – if you reside in California) and information about benefits, resources and the filing process. You will fill out the information and return it to your employer to finish inputting the information and then sending it to their insurance company.
- Follow up with your employer! If you don’t hear anything within 30 days of filing your claim, it is important to follow up with your employer and your insurance company to check in on the progress of your claim.
Note: if your employer DOES NOT do any of the above to help after your injury, refuses to give you the paperwork, or you do not hear about your claim in a reasonable amount of time, call a workers’ comp attorney as soon as possible. You don’t want to be stuck paying for medical bills that you shouldn’t have to.
Did You Know?
What is workers’ comp (compensation)? In the state of California any business with at least 1 employee must retain workers’ comp insurance. This insures the company for any accidents that are sustained on the job.
YOU do not pay for workers’ comp insurance like medical or dental insurance. This insurance is the responsibility of the employer as part of the cost of doing business.
The state of California has a no fault rule – meaning even if the accident was ultimately your fault you can still claim it under workers’ comp.
You CANNOT be let go due to your injury. If you are able to return to your job after you’ve recovered your job is legally required to hold your position for you. You cannot just be fired because you’re out for a period of time.
Speak to a Workers’ Comp Attorney
A workers’ comp attorney acts as YOUR advocate, not your employers. They are prepared to help you receive the maximum amount of benefits owed and to ensure that your employer isn’t bypassing any steps of the process. They will also handle any paperwork and communicate to the insurance companies on your behalf.
Here’s How They Can Help:
- They focus on the paperwork and let you recover, rehabilitate and heal.
- Act as your advocate between your employer and insurance companies.
- They are the EXPERTS and are experienced and knowledgeable about the laws, regulations, resources and benefits that you are entitled to.
- Your attorney can cut through the red tape and get down to business without missing any pertinent compensation information relevant to your claim.
- As you recover you can continue to collect benefits and compensation well after you heal depending on the type of injury that you sustained.
- They will follow your claim as long as needed and will always be there to represent you when any issues arise.
Connect with Visionary Law
Over 120 workplace accidents happen DAILY. If you are injured on the job in California, give our law firm, Visionary Law Group a call today. We offer free consultations and advice on how to proceed with a claim in Southern California. We will review your case and decide if we think it is a good idea to move forward and partner with us to receive the maximum benefits you are owed.
