If You File for Workers’ Compensation, What Happens if You Quit Your Job?

If you are injured at your job in the State of California – and it can happen to anyone – you will probably qualify to receive workers’ compensation benefits, but you will need some advice and guidance from a Marin County workers’ compensation attorney.

Workplace injuries are often agonizing, both emotionally and physically. After you recover, you may not want to continue in a hazardous work environment. Can you resign from your job while you receive workers’ compensation benefits? Should you? Would you lose your benefits?

Just because you receive workers’ comp benefits does not mean that you’re stuck with your job. But if you quit while you are recovering from an injury, it may affect your benefit payments. It’s more complicated than you might think, but if you will keep reading, you’ll learn some answers.

How Many Workplace Injuries Happen in California?

Plenty of injuries happen on the job in this state. In 2018, more than 400,000 job-related injuries and illnesses – and 422 fatalities – were reported in California. Construction is the most dangerous line of work, but every job has its hazards, and anyone could be injured on the job.

Both the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health actively enforce workplace safety standards, but we all make mistakes, so there is simply no way that all workplace accidents can be avoided.

Most employees who are injured on the job will qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. Workers’ compensation is an injury insurance program administered by the State of California’s Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers’ Compensation.

What Benefits Are Provided Through Workers’ Compensation?

California employers are required by law to purchase workers’ compensation insurance, even if they have only one employee. Employers carry workers’ comp insurance so that when an employee is injured on the job, that employee may file an injury claim and receive benefits.

In California, workers’ compensation provides four types of benefits to employees who have been injured at their jobs: medical benefits, temporary disability benefit payments, permanent partial disability benefit payments, and assistance for vocational retraining.

Medical Care and Treatment Benefits

If you are injured on the job, you are entitled to medical care and treatment for your injury or injuries for as long as you need it, without regard to your employment status.

Even if you quit your job after you’ve sustained an injury, you will be covered by workers’ compensation for:

1. injury-related surgeries and prescriptions
2. injury-related hospital and doctor bills
3. any medical devices that may be required

Temporary Disability Benefits

Temporary disability payments are two-thirds of an injured employee’s average weekly wages, up to a maximum of $1,299.43 (as of 2020). Temporary disability payments are available only after a doctor confirms that an employee cannot work due to a work-related injury.

It is usually better to stay with your employer until your workers’ compensation injury claim has been completely resolved. If you quit your job while you are receiving temporary workers’ compensation disability benefits, you will lose the right to continue collecting those benefits.

Permanent Disability Benefits

Permanent workers’ compensation disability benefits may be approved after an employee reaches the maximum medical improvement level, meaning that no further healing can be expected, if a doctor determines that the job-related injury has resulted in a permanent disability.

If you are permanently disabled by your injury, quitting your job before you reach the maximum medical improvement level may reduce your benefits, but in most cases, after a doctor verifies that you are permanently disabled, you can quit and still receive permanent disability payments.

If you are injured at your job, as soon as you have been seen and treated by a medical professional, consult a San Rafael workers’ compensation attorney. An attorney can help you file your claim and ensure that no mistakes or misunderstandings delay your benefit payments.

How Will a Workers’ Compensation Attorney Help You?

Proving that the injury you sustained happened at work is not always easy. If you don’t have a medical exam immediately after a job-related injury, you may not be able to prove that your injury happened at work, or the insurance company may claim that you weren’t seriously injured.

A workers’ comp attorney can help. Your workers’ comp attorney can obtain any surveillance video and eyewitness statements that may be helpful and will ensure that you see the right doctors and have the medical records you will need.

If your claim is disputed by your employer or by your employer’s insurance company, or if anything emerges in the process that might keep you from receiving workers’ comp payments, the right attorney will advocate on your behalf and appeal any denial of your benefits.

When Should You Speak With an Attorney?

If you are receiving any type of workers’ compensation benefits, before you quit your job, consult with your workers’ compensation attorney. You’ll want to make sure that you don’t take any action that might leave you injured or disabled – and without any income.

You also need to consult with a California workers’ compensation lawyer if you have already quit your job but you want to apply for workers’ comp benefits.

As soon as possible after a workplace injury, report the injury to your employer, who should provide you with an application for workers’ compensation benefits. The information you provide will play a major role in determining what workers’ comp benefits you will receive.

Let an attorney help with your application for benefits. As mentioned previously, any mistake or misunderstanding could delay your benefits or even result in the rejection of your claim.

What Else is Important to Remember?

You also need to be aware of the deadlines. Without an attorney’s guidance, you could miss important deadlines, and your claim might be denied. It is always best to seek legal assistance as quickly as possible after you have sustained an injury at your place of work.

This state’s workers’ comp attorneys routinely handle the most complex workers’ compensation claims, so they know precisely what it will take to acquire the benefits you need and deserve.

A Marin County workers’ compensation attorney will provide an injured worker with a free case evaluation with no obligation. If you are injured at your job anywhere in California, exercise your rights and speak promptly to a good workers’ compensation attorney.

California offers both Long Term Disability (LTD) insurance and Short Term Disability Insurance (DI) under the California State Disability Insurance (SDI) program. Both form a crucial part of your financial safety net if you can’t work due to a non-work-related injury or illness, pregnancy, or childbirth.

In California, you must pay into the State Disability Insurance (SDI) program through deductions. However, Long Term Disability (LTD) insurance is neither statutory mandated nor established by the government but purchased on an individual’s behalf as an employment benefit. The only options that come close to an LTD in California are SSI disability and Social Security disability, which are notoriously difficult to qualify for. You may want to talk to a worker’s compensation law firm in the Bay Area to help you apply and fight for your benefits.

Short and long term insurance policies cover workers differently. Therefore, deciding whether to get short term, long term, or both types of disability insurance will depend on a worker’s budget, needs, and expectations.

How Long Do SDI and LTD Benefits Last?

The amount of time someone continues to receive disability benefits is called a benefit period. Going by their names (long and short term) , one will obviously last longer than the other.

Long term benefits usually last for an extended period of time and can go for two, five, or ten years. Sometimes they can last until someone attains retirement age – usually 65.

Conversely, short term benefits in California can last between 90 days and 52 weeks. Self-employed people can only receive payments for only 39 weeks.

Generally, the shorter the benefit period, the cheaper the policy will be. However, remember that an average disability could last around three years. The best-case scenario would be to have the SDI benefits supplement LTD insurance as the former awaits the latter to kick in.

Who Is Eligible For LTD and SDI Benefits in California?

Employees working for companies offering LTD coverage must have worked for a certain period, also known as a service wait or waiting period. For association affiliated or professional LTD coverage, the person must have been a member for a specified period of time.

To receive California SDI benefits, on the other hand, you must:

• Be unable to do regular work for eight consecutive days
• Have either been employed or actively in search of employment at the time of the disability
• Be under the care of a licensed doctor or accredited religious professional
• Have a completed form from your doctor that medically certifies your disability
• Have earned at least $300 from your previous deductions
• Have lost wages
• Complete and mail a claim form with 49 days following your disability

Ineligibility for SDI

You may also be ineligible to receive California short term disability insurance for a number of reasons. These circumstances include:

• You were disabled while engaging in criminal activity that ended in a conviction
• You are in the process of claiming or already receiving Paid Family Leave benefits or Unemployment Insurance
• You’re working and receiving your regular salary, or you’re on paid sick leave
• You’re getting weekly Workers’ Compensation benefits at the same or greater rate than the SDI rate
• You’re in the circumstance because of a convicted crime
• You failed to get an independent medical examination

How Much Coverage Does Short Term and Long Term Disability Insurance Provide?

Neither program will match 100% of your salary, but they might come close. SDI in California will pay about 60-70% of your regular salary, up to a cap. This weekly cap is $1,300 in 2020. No withholding tax will be taken from your disability benefits.

LTD provides a benefit of around 60% of your initial monthly income. Most likely, it will start when your SDI benefits end.

What Determines the Cost of STD and LTD Insurance?

Other than the waiting period, benefit period, and the amount to be covered, these factors will affect the cost of a disability policy:

• Health
• Age
• Location
• Occupation

Nonetheless, expect to pay about 1-3% of your annual salary to disability policy. Considering the duration that long term disability insurance lasts, it is correct to say it is more cost-effective than an SDI.

How Do I File For SDI and LTD?

Filing a worker’s compensation claim in California can be tricky sometimes. For an SDI claim, your employer or employee’s healthcare practitioner will provide the form. You can also file it online through the state’s Economic Development Department (EDD) website and must file the claim within 49 days following your inability to work.

You’re also required to file a medical certificate of disability, which should be authorized, as mentioned earlier.

The EDD may call you for any questions and will likely also call your employer. If you qualify, they will send you a notice detailing your eligibility, amount to expect, and when the benefits start.

For LTD insurance, claims submission procedures are included in the insurance policy or Summary Plan Description. While the process may vary from employer to employer, the process typically begins by first contacting your employer or insurer for direction.

A number of claims forms will be required, including:

• A disability claim form completed by the claimant
• An attending physician statement
• Employer’s statement, and
• An authorization for release of medical information

An experienced worker’s compensation attorney in the Bay Area will help you submit the necessary paperwork and work with you throughout the legal process to ensure your rights are not being violated.

When Do These Disability Benefits Commence?

The waiting period for SDI benefits is around 14 days. Long term disability insurance has a waiting period of between 30 days and two years.

The longer this waiting period, the more time you’ll go without accessing your policy – but the cheaper the policy might be.

How Do I Choose Between Long Term and Short Term Disability Insurance?

Long term and short term disability insurance plans offer different kinds of coverage. Workers who can afford often choose to buy both to be completely covered. However, those who don’t see this as an option will opt for the long term disability insurance and may use their savings to provide for the first few months after a disability.

Legal Help to Secure Worker’s Compensation Benefits

Some employers may not want to cooperate with you on your claim. Even when you are clear on your rights, your employer may still try to avoid honoring them. If you are being discriminated against by anyone involved in the process or discouraged by your employer against making a claim, talk to an experienced disability or worker’s compensation lawyer who’ll protect your rights and fight for the benefits you’re entitled to.

If you need legal help when applying for short or long term disability insurance, or to appeal a denial of an application for disability benefits, talk to a worker’s compensation lawyer at Wyman & Hegwer Law Office. We represent worker’s compensation victims. Get started by calling us at 415-448-5107 for a free case evaluation.  

Workers’ compensation is regulated by the state and paid for by employers. If an employee is injured on the job, he or she may file a claim for benefits, but in many cases, to receive those benefits, an injured worker will need help from a San Rafael workers’ compensation attorney.

Determining what benefits any particular California worker is entitled to can be exceedingly complicated. Many employees are uncertain if they qualify and unsure about how to file a workers’ compensation claim.

Are undocumented workers in California covered by workers’ compensation? How can they obtain benefits if they are injured on the job? What if an undocumented worker’s injury claim is disputed by his or her employer or by that employer’s workers’ comp insurance provider?

Keep reading to learn the answers to these questions – and to learn more about workers’ compensation benefits in our state.

What Are the Rights of Injured Workers in California?

Every employee who is injured on the job in California, including every undocumented worker, is eligible for workers’ compensation payments to cover the costs of medical treatment. In some cases, workers’ comp partially reimburses injured employees for their lost wages.

But that’s not the full answer. An undocumented worker in California may not receive:

1. temporary disability payments if modified (“light duty”) work is available
2. a supplemental job displacement (vocational retraining) voucher

Employers in California that cannot offer light duty work or permanent employment based on an injured worker’s medical status must pay workers’ compensation benefits to that injured employee.

How Does Federal Law Apply to Workers’ Compensation Claims?

However, if an employer learns that a worker is undocumented after that worker is injured, no workers’ comp benefits will be paid. That’s because federal law prevents employers from hiring someone when the employer knows that person does not have a legal right to work in the U.S.

Employers are required by federal law to confirm the identity and work eligibility of every new employee, but if the person being hired has used false documents, the employer may not know that the information is fabricated.

When an employer learns that an employee is undocumented or has falsified his or her documentation, the employer must terminate any worker who is not legally authorized to work in the United States.

Employers can be criminally prosecuted and fined for violating federal work eligibility regulations, and undocumented workers who use false documentation to obtain employment are also subject to prosecution.

What Does California Law Say About Work-Related Injuries?

Nevertheless, under California law, any person who has been employed in the state and injured on the job may claim workers’ compensation benefits, and a worker’s immigration status has no bearing on the matter of fault or liability for work-related injuries.

No federal immigration statutes address workers’ compensation eligibility. Federal law only prohibits employers from hiring persons who are not authorized to work in the U.S., so an undocumented employee’s other workers’ compensation rights and benefits are not affected.

Falsely claiming authorization to work in the United States is not workers’ compensation fraud. Workers’ comp fraud happens when employees fabricate or exaggerate injuries (or when doctors over-treat a patient or seek to be paid for healthcare that was never delivered.)

An undocumented employee who is injured in California qualifies to receive all workers’ comp benefits including temporary disability payments. An undocumented status only affects benefits related to an employer’s inability to rehire the worker.

How Does the Law Keep Employers from Exploiting Workers?

Temporary disability benefits are based on an employee’s injury and on his or her ability to work, not on legal eligibility to work in the United States.

California lawmakers have determined that the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to undocumented workers would tempt unethical employers to hire undocumented workers in order to avoid purchasing workers’ comp insurance or paying workers’ comp benefits.

But even if you qualify for workers’ compensation benefits, a legitimate claim may be denied, and you may need an attorney to help you acquire the benefits that you are entitled to by law.

How Do You Obtain Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

If you are injured while working, report the injury at once to your employer. California employers are required to have workers’ comp application forms in both English and Spanish.

If you need workers’ comp benefits, your claim may be challenged by your employer or by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company if you fail to report an injury – immediately and in writing – even though state law gives you thirty days to make that report.

Why is a Medical Examination So Essential After an Injury?

Have a medical examination as quickly as possible – certainly within twenty-four hours. Again, your employer or your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company may dispute your claim if you do not seek to be examined and treated at once.

You also need to consult promptly with a good workers’ comp lawyer. If there’s a dispute, problem, or misunderstanding regarding your claim, the right San Rafael workers’ compensation attorney will work to resolve the issue so that you can start receiving benefits as soon as possible.

What Benefits Are Provided Through Workers’ Compensation?

Workers’ comp temporary disability benefits are paid at a rate of two-thirds of the injured workers’ average weekly wage, up to a maximum amount that is recalculated each year. In 2020, that maximum amount is $1,299.43 per week.

Temporary disability benefits may be paid only after a doctor has confirmed that an injured employee cannot work due to a work-related injury.

Temporary disability benefits are paid for up to 104 weeks, until the worker is cleared by a doctor to return to work, or until the employee’s condition has reached the “maximum medical improvement” level, when a worker’s condition is stable and not expected to improve or decline.

An injured employee in California is also entitled to the medical care and treatment that is reasonable and necessary for a work-related injury. Workers’ compensation covers that medical care and treatment.

If You Are Permanently Disabled

Permanent partial disability benefits are available – after a worker reaches the maximum medical improvement level – if a doctor determines that the work-related injury has caused a permanent impairment or a permanent disability.

Workers’ comp is exceedingly complicated and confusing, so if you suffer a serious work-related injury, you’ll need an attorney who can give you personalized advice, understands the system, routinely represents injured workers, and knows how to acquire the benefits you need.

If you are injured at your job, workers’ compensation pays for your medical treatment and partially replaces your lost wages. If you become ill or injured at work anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, arrange at once to speak with a San Rafael workers’ compensation attorney.

Employers in California must have workers’ compensation insurance. When an employee suffers a job-related injury or illness, workers’ compensation covers that employee’s medical bills and a percentage of the lost wages. The most seriously injured workers may qualify for permanent disability benefits.

Although most workers recover quickly from job-related injuries, some workers continue to have serious health problems. If the doctor who is treating you says that you will never completely recover or that the work you can do will always be limited, you may have a permanent disability.

This means that you may be eligible for permanent disability benefits through the workers’ compensation system in California. Permanent disability benefits compensate you for the loss of your earning capacity.

What is a P&S Report?

When you recover from an injury to the point where your condition is neither improving nor getting worse, that condition is considered “permanent and stationary” (or “P&S”). At this time, the doctor who is treating you will produce a “P&S Report” that should describe:

1. Specifics such as the intensity of your pain or your ability to move injured body parts
2. Work restrictions, the limitations on the work you are able to do
3. The medical care you may require in upcoming weeks and months
4. Whether or not you can return to your job
5. How much of your disability was actually caused by your work

The doctor who is treating you sends the P&S report to the insurance company. You have the right to a copy of that report. Request it in writing from the doctor or the insurance company’s claim administrator.

Scrutinize your P&S report thoroughly, and make sure that it’s accurate and complete and that you agree with the physician’s conclusions. Omitted or inaccurate information might cause you to lose some of the benefits that are rightfully yours.

How Are Permanent Disability Benefit Amounts Determined?

Permanent partial disability or total disability benefits may be approved after a P&S report confirms that you have reached “maximum medical improvement,” and the physician who is treating you concludes that the injury has caused permanent disability or permanent impairment.

Then, under the workers’ compensation guidelines, your permanent disability is “rated” from one percent to one-hundred percent. If you receive a one-hundred percent disability rating, it means that you are entirely unable to work in any capacity whatsoever. This is called a permanent total disability.

If your work-related illness or injury causes a permanent disability, you are entitled to workers’ compensation permanent disability benefits, even if you’re partially disabled and you can work with some limitations. Once you have the rating, it must be converted into a dollar amount.

The weekly payment rate for permanent disability benefits is based on the state’s average weekly wage. Since 2014, the maximum permanent disability rate in California is $290 per week.

Why is an Attorney’s Help So Important?

Pursuing a workers’ comp permanent disability claim is complicated and takes time. You will need a workers’ compensation attorney’s help. A mistake or a misunderstanding at the beginning could delay the process or even cause your workers’ comp claim to be denied.

But when you work with the right California workers’ compensation attorney, your claim will be accurate and filed on-time, and your rights will be protected. Your attorney will help you meet the deadlines and ensure that all of your paperwork is properly and thoroughly completed.

Can Your Own Doctor Treat You?

Many employers and workers’ comp insurance companies in California use medical provider networks (MPNs) to handle work-related injuries. If your employer uses a medical provider network, your injury – in most cases – must be handled by that network of healthcare providers.

To receive treatment by your own doctor or any physician outside of the network, you must “pre-designate” that doctor before you sustain a job-related injury, but you may pre-designate a specific doctor only if:

1. That doctor has seen you previously and has your medical records.
2. Group health coverage is provided by your employer.
3. The doctor agrees to treat you for job-related injuries prior to any job-related injury.

It is important to understand that if you want your own doctor to treat you, that doctor must be pre-designated. Before any injury or illness actually happens, you must complete the necessary workers’ comp forms and tell your employer that you are pre-designating a specific doctor.

What Are Your Rights With a Medical Provider Network?

If you have not pre-designated a physician, you will be seen for a job-related injury by a doctor in the insurance company’s medical provider network. However, you may change doctors within that network after the first visit.

MPNs follow guidelines set forth by the state’s Division of Workers’ Compensation. An MPN must offer you an opportunity for a second and even third opinion if you disagree with your first diagnosis. If you disagree after a third opinion, you have a right to an independent medical exam.

In cases where workers and insurance companies simply cannot agree on the value of a permanent disability, a judge can hear the case. You can testify about your injury, and the judge will review the medical records and reports to decide your disability level.

How Will a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Help You?

Determining what benefits an injured worker is entitled to is rarely easy. After an injury at the workplace, you may not know if you are eligible for workers’ comp benefits, or you may not know how to apply for the benefits.

There are precise legal steps that you can take if your workers’ compensation permanent disability benefits are unfairly delayed, restricted, or denied, but you’ll need an attorney’s help.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, an injured worker will need to seek the advice and services of a San Rafael workers’ compensation attorney who deals routinely with complicated workers’ compensation claims and who understands what it will take to acquire the benefits you need.

The workers’ comp application process in this state is complicated and sometimes baffling, so if you are injured on-the-job, you must have the right workers’ comp lawyer working on your behalf. Your health and your future are too important to settle for any other option.

If you’re injured on the job in California, you probably qualify for workers’ comp benefits to cover your medical bills and partially replace your lost wages, but you may need assistance to obtain your benefits and treatment. A San Rafael workers’ compensation attorney can help.

What types of benefits are provided through the workers’ comp system? What treatment is provided? Will your personal doctor be allowed to treat your workplace injuries? What else should you know regarding workers’ compensation?

If you’ll keep reading this brief introduction to workers’ compensation, you will learn the answers to those questions, and you’ll learn more about your rights as an injured worker in California.

What Are Your Workers’ Compensation Rights?

All California employers must purchase workers’ compensation insurance. When an employee sustains a work-related injury or illness, the employer’s insurance company pays for the medical care, lost wages, and if necessary, for vocational retraining or permanent disability benefits.

If you are employed in California, your workers’ compensation rights include your rights to:

1. submit a claim after a job-related injury
2. receive prompt medical treatment
3. have a medical exam conducted by a doctor who is not your employer’s doctor
4. benefits based on your particular injuries
5. protection from wrongful termination or any other employer retaliation

Workers’ comp in California offers four types of benefits to injured employees: temporary disability benefits, medical benefits, permanent partial disability benefits, and help with vocational retraining.

Temporary Disability Benefits

Temporary disability benefits total two-thirds of an injured worker’s average weekly wages, up to a cap set by law each year. Temporary disability benefits are granted when a doctor states that a worker can’t work temporarily due to an on-the-job injury.

An injured worker is entitled to temporary disability benefits until he or she is approved by a physician to go back to work or until the employee’s condition reaches “maximum medical improvement,” when the condition has stabilized and will no longer either improve or decline.

Medical Benefits

Injured workers in California are also entitled to all reasonable and necessary medical care and treatment for job-related injuries, and workers’ comp pays for that treatment.

Permanent Partial Disability Benefits

When a recovering injured worker reaches maximum medical improvement, if a doctor determines that the work-related injury was the cause of a permanent impairment or disability, the worker may receive permanent partial disability payments.

Permanent disabilities are rated on a scale of zero to 100 percent. With a 100 percent or total disability rating, an injured worker is entirely and permanently unable to return to work.

Vocational Retraining

When an employee can’t return to his or her job after a workplace injury, but that employee may be able to work in another capacity, the employee may be eligible under workers’ comp for vocational rehabilitation and retraining assistance.

Can You Be Treated By Your Own Doctor?

Many employers in California and their workers’ comp insurance companies have established MPNs (medical provider networks) to deal with job-related injuries. If your employer uses an MPN, workers’ comp typically requires you to be treated by those medical providers.

Under workers’ compensation, to be seen by your own doctor or by any healthcare provider outside of the medical provider network, you must name or “pre-designate” the doctor before a job-related injury occurs, and you can only pre-designate if:

1. You complete the paperwork for pre-designation and tell your employer that you are pre-designating a doctor.

2. The doctor you name agrees to see you for job-related illnesses and injuries.

3. The doctor has seen you previously and has your records.

What Are A Medical Provider Network’s Obligations?

As previously mentioned, most employers in California and their workers’ comp insurance companies have established MPNs. Unless you pre-designate a specific doctor, a job-related injury will be handled by a doctor in your employer’s or employer’s insurance company’s MPN. You may later change your doctor within the medical provider network if you wish.

Determining the exact benefits and rights that injured workers may be entitled to under workers’ compensation isn’t easy. The guidelines and regulations are exceedingly complicated and detailed.

Moreover, many employees in California who sustain work-related injuries may not be sure if they are eligible for workers’ comp benefits, and some don’t understand how to file a workers’ compensation claim.

How Will A Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Help You?

In San Rafael or anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, if you are injured at work, seek advice and guidance from a San Rafael workers’ compensation attorney. Workers’ comp lawyers handle the most difficult cases. They know what it will take to obtain the benefits you deserve and need.

Navigating the workers’ comp system in this state can be a frustrating and challenging process – especially if you’re still recovering from a serious injury or illness.

If you want to ensure that you will be treated by your own doctor after a workplace injury, tell your employer and complete the paperwork to pre-designate that doctor. Otherwise, you’ll be required to use MPN doctors.

If You’re Injured At Work, What Steps Should You Take?

If you’re injured at work, you have two immediate priorities. Your first is immediate medical treatment. After you’ve been treated, arrange to meet with a California workers’ compensation attorney.

The right workers’ comp attorney will know the rules about pre-designation and will fight aggressively to help you obtain the medical care and services you need – whether it’s inside or outside a medical provider network.

Work from the start with a workers’ comp lawyer who knows the system. Consulting a lawyer at the very beginning ensures that your workers’ comp claim will be error-free. Otherwise, your benefits may be delayed or even denied entirely.

If you’ve sought worker’s comp benefits and your claim was rejected, a workers’ compensation lawyer can appeal that decision. The workers’ compensation bureaucracy is huge in California. You must be represented by a lawyer who knows the bureaucracy and works with it regularly.

And if you’re having problems now with a workers’ compensation claim that you’ve already filed or with a medical provider network, it’s not too late to speak with an attorney. Your health and your future are too important to risk.

Aggravation of a previous condition is something that happens during a workers’ compensation case. This can happen to anyone who has this type of case and requires additional help if this happens to them. 

This is a common issue that arises with workers’ compensation claims within the workplace. It is important that the worker works with a medical professional when they are experiencing any sort of injury, whether it is work-related or not. Usually, if it is work-related, there are forms that have to be filled out and are required for the employer to submit to the insurance coverage that they have on each of their workers. To be sure you know all about your legal rights be sure to contact a workers’ compensation lawyer. 

Workers’ Compensation System

The workers’ compensation system is a system that is there to provide and protect workers who end up becoming injured while doing the job that they need to do at the workplace. Even if the worker is doing a job that is not necessarily damaging on the body or dangerous, they can still suffer injuries from the job such as back problems or carpal tunnel in the arms and hands. 

However, sometimes, a worker may have issues prior to getting the job. This does not automatically mean that they are barred from receiving workers’ compensation benefits. It does mean that it might make it harder to determine whether the damages were from a particular position or job that they hold or if they were there previously.

Working with a Medical Professional

It is important that the worker who is injured while on the job works with a medical professional to figure out what type of injury they have. Since there are different types, the medical professional has to classify the injury as total, partial, permanent, or temporary.  

Permanent disabilities make it so the worker is not able to come back to work at all. Their disability is permanent and it makes it so they are unable to do the work or job they are supposed to be doing. Temporary disability means the worker can come back to work eventually, just not right now. The medical professional has to also determine if the injury is one that happened at the job site or somewhere else. 

Total disability is when the person is unable to do any job during the time that they are out of work, or they are unable to do a modified version of the job. Partial disability means that the worker is able to do another job, just not the one that they were originally doing or they can do the same one, but modified to make it easier for them to do based on the injury they are dealing with from the particular job.

Aggravation of a Pre-Existing Condition

Even if the worker has a pre-existing condition before they started the job, it does not mean that they are not covered by the workers’ compensation benefits and services that the workplace offers. There are instances when it may or may not be covered, and the scope of this can be dependent not only on the type of injury, but the specific case itself, the company’s coverage, the medical advice that is given, and the specific job that is being done by the worker. 

When the worker has a back injury, or any other issue, such as arthritis and this is being aggravated by the specific job they are doing; this can be covered under the workers’ compensation benefits that the workplace should have for the employees that are working with them. 

There are also other factors that come into play with a pre-existing condition. If this condition has already been filed under another workers’ compensation report, then this might also be something that can hinder the worker getting additional compensation from the same injury, especially when knowing that the injury is there and the person goes to do the same job with a new company, without letting them know about this report or this injury.

Denying a Claim for a Pre-Existing Condition

If the worker has been denied a payout from the insurance company because it is a pre-existing condition, then the worker can fight this. They have to file new paperwork and bring the insurance company and the employer to court or find a settlement amount in the middle without going to court.

If your claim was denied, it is important that you reach out to the right legal person to help. This is because the insurance company legally cannot dispute or deny a claim based solely on the fact that it is a pre-existing condition. This is where a lot of people find issues with the insurance companies, as they feel that since this condition existed when they were hired, it is not the fault of the employer. However, the law states that when this pre-existing condition is aggravated by the job that the workers are doing, this is the responsibility of the employer to pay for through the use of the workers’ compensation insurance benefits that they pay for on their workers.

Contacting a Professional for Legal Advice

Those who are having issues with their employer who is not providing the accommodations that are required by law for the workers’ compensation case that they have can speak with a lawyer who specializes in this particular case. Reaching out can shed more light on the issues they are dealing with.

If you want to speak with a legal attorney for more information regarding the case that you think you might have. They can provide more information on what can be done inside the courtroom for not only you but the case you think you have. 

Working with someone who understands the particular case you may have, or even the specifics of the courtroom that can provide the information you need, you can ensure that you obtain the justice and compensation that you are entitled to from your employer. Call the Law Office of Daniel Hegwer today to speak with the best lawyer for the case.