Were you injured on the job? Did you get hurt while you were working? If so, then you most likely qualify for workers’ compensation. In the state of California, if you’re hurt while doing your job, you can qualify for workers’ compensation. It doesn’t matter if the accident was “your fault” or anything of that nature. Belal Hamideh, a Los Angeles workers’ compensation attorney, can help you to receive the maximum amount of compensation for your injuries. Se Habla Espanol.
How Can A Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Help Me?
A workers’ compensation attorney can help in a variety of ways. For starters, they can take care of your case for you, so that you can focus on what’s most important: your recovery. From many years of helping those who were injured on the job, we have a very good idea of what your claim is worth. Thus, we can work to make sure that you receive that and nothing less.
We have a proven track record of taking on insurance companies and winning for our clients. In this context, “winning” often means “getting our clients everything they deserve through a negotiated settlement.” However, if the other side continues to “lowball” you, we’re more than happy to take them to a worker’s compensation hearing and win for you there.
Beyond that, we can place you with medical providers we work with. Like us, they work on contingency. So, you won’t have to pay them anything upfront. Their payment will come out of your settlement. These medical workers can provide compelling medical evidence on your behalf, strengthening your case that much more. Those are just some of the ways we can help. There are many others.
Is a Workers’ Comp Attorney Necessary?
Workers’ compensation law in the state of California can be complicated. Many complex factors determine how much compensation you can receive. If you try to figure it all out for yourself (particularly while you’re recovering from an injury), it’s likely that you’ll receive less compensation than you deserve (if you receive compensation at all).
Many turn to us after their initial workers’ compensation claim was denied. When that happens, it does not mean that you are out of luck, never to receive workers’ compensation. We have crafted appeals with so many of our clients, so that they can receive the compensation that they should have.
What to Do If You’re Hurt at Work
Get to safety. To the extent that you are able without putting yourself or others at risk, get out of harm’s way.
Tell your employer what happened. Report it even if you don’t think that you were significantly injured or injured at all. Best case scenario: you aren’t hurt at all. Your employer then takes this close call as an impetus to improve workplace safety.
Get medical attention from professionals.Do not wait to do this.
In the event that you can document evidence, do so. Take pictures and videos.Focus on damage: to your body, the environment, equipment, and so forth. If there are witnesses, get their confirmation.
Reach out to us. We can give you the best possible chance at a successful outcome.
What Workers’ Compensation May I Be Eligible for
In the state of California, you are entitled to compensation for your injuries if you are injured in an accident at work. That compensation may take the form of:
- Medical Care Expenses. Any medical expenses that accrue on account of your injury can be covered by workers’ compensation. That includes therapy, doctor’s visits, and much, much more.
- Mileage Expenses Reimbursement. Transportation to and from medical facilities, therapy, and the like can add up quickly. Workers’ compensation can cover it.
- Temp Disability Benefits. In the event that your doctor requested that you cease working for a period of time, or your employer cannot offer accommodations for work restrictions based on your injuries, you can be given a percentage of your average weekly earnings.
- Permanent Disability Settlement. You may be entitled to money for future lost earnings if your disability impacts your ability to do your regular work duties or other jobs.
- Rehab Voucher. Should a medical professional determine that your work restrictions are permanent, then you may be entitled to a voucher. The maximum of this can go as high as six thousand dollars.
Will I Get Fired for Filing Workers’ Comp?
You shouldn’t be. It is illegal to fire an employee for claiming a workers’ compensation accident. The ADA (“Americans with Disabilities Act”), as well as the FEHA (“California Fair Employment Housing Act”), protect your rights in this state.
That said, there are times when employers break the law and do fire employees for filing for workers’ compensation. The employer will never say as much, not in so many words. Instead, they’ll make an excuse, a lie.
At all times, we represent our clients as aggressively as possible. That means if you are fired for filing workers’ compensation, we will petition for a penalty of $10,000 as well as back pay. That’s just for starters, too.
If you believe there is even the slightest possibility that you were let go, suspended, or even demoted for filing for workers’ compensation, contact us. We will do everything in our power to put this right.
How Will I Know If My Employer Is Retaliating Against Me?
Filing for worker’s compensation is considered a “protected activity” in California. You cannot be discriminated against or retaliated against for engaging in a protected activity, according to the United States Equal Opportunity Commission. Other, similar protected activities include testifying against an employer when subpoenaed, reporting workplace hazards and/or unethical practices, and so forth.
- Abuse, whether it’s verbal or possibly even physical.
- Making up false rumors about you, your work, etc.
- Demotion.
- Falsely lowering (or lying) about your performance evaluation.
- Increasing scrutiny in an unwarranted fashion.
- Changing your work schedule to make it harder on you for no reason.
- Making reports to authorities or just threatening to do so.
- Making your job harder on you.
Should you believe that any of this has occurred as a result of your filing for workers’ compensation, contact us as soon as possible.
Is Workers’ Compensation Different from Personal Injury?
Worker’s compensation is very different from personal injury.
In a personal injury case, you can recover all of the damages for your suffering. In workers’ compensation, there is no way to recover “pain and suffering” damages.
In a personal injury case, you can receive compensation for the lowering of your earning capacity due to your injury. You can also receive compensation for losing earnings, future medical expenses, permanent injuries, loss of enjoyment of life, and so forth.
In workers’ compensation, you can receive permanent disability benefits, rehab costs, wages you’ve lost, medical bills, transportation, and more.
While there are differences, there are also some which are considered “third-party liability claims,” or “crossover cases.” In these cases, you can file for workers’ compensation as well as personal injury. As such, your work injury would have been caused by the negligence and/or recklessness of another party. You may have a “crossover case” if someone other than your employer were liable for your injury on the job.
As you can see, these cases can get complicated very quickly. Our team can provide a free case evaluation. From there, we’ll determine who is at fault and how we can help you to receive the maximum compensation.
Case Study: Workers’ Compensation
Our client suffered an injury when he was not at work, when he was resting at home during the weekend. His claim was that his heart attack wasn’t caused by being at home on a Sunday, but instead was caused by mistreatment and stress from his employer on the job.
As you might imagine, our client’s employer’s workers’ compensation insurance denied that. They said that our client’s family had a heart disease history and, since it happened outside of work hours, it was not the company’s fault.
Belal took on the case, even though the odds looked very long. Yes, the case took two years, but Belal proved that the heart attack was related to our client’s work. The final settlement for our client came to $400,000.
When Can I File for Workers’ Compensation?
You should file for worker’s compensation as soon as you can. Why? For starters, you only have one year from the injury to do so. You can still file if it’s been more than a year, and we’ll do everything in our power to help you receive your compensation, but it can be more difficult.
From the date of the accident, you only have 30 days to report your injury to your employer. We encourage you to reach out to us for your worker’s compensation case as soon as possible. Your employer’s attorneys and insurance company will be hard at work as soon as they can be. Once we get to work, we do everything in our power to help you to receive your maximum compensation quickly.
Los Angeles Workers’ Compensation Attorney: Belal Hamideh
You work hard. When you’re hurt on the job, it can take a toll on every aspect of your life. You deserve to be compensated when you’re injured at work.
We have a proven track record of helping our clients to receive all of the worker’s competition they should. Now, we can put that experience to work for you. We offer free case evaluations so that we can sit down with you and see how we can help.
To schedule this free case evaluation, message us through our site here or give us a call.