Huntington Beach Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
Numerous development projects are ongoing in Huntington Beach and throughout Orange County, including high-rise apartments, condominiums, hotels, and office spaces, and developers employ hundreds of workers for their job sites. However, many workers are prone to serious on-site accidents and injuries due to heavy and dangerous equipment and other risks.
In addition to builders and construction workers, office workers, teachers, hospital workers, nursing home employees, and others face the risk of severe workplace accidents and injuries.
Workers who suffer injuries while on the job may be unable to work for a significant period. In addition, they may incur high medical costs, such as from surgeries and other medical procedures—not to mention lost income.
Victims of workplace accidents should immediately call the experienced Huntington Beach workers’ compensation lawyers at Bentley & More LLP. Our team can meet with you to discuss the circumstances of your workplace occurrence and determine if you are eligible to bring a claim for workers’ compensation benefits against your employer.
We can also determine if you can file a personal injury claim against a third party based on negligence. In either circumstance, we will work hard to maximize the monetary benefits and compensation you recover through your workers’ compensation or negligence claim.
Our legal team has recovered millions of dollars in compensation on behalf of our severely injured clients, including those who suffered their injuries and illnesses while at work. Let us help you obtain the results you need to become whole again following your workplace accident.
For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with a knowledgeable Huntington Beach workers’ comp attorney, please call us or contact us online for more information.
Special note for other law firms: Our experienced legal team regularly represents accident victims and workers who suffer catastrophic injuries. We take referrals from other law firms, and we have the resources to handle even the most serious and complex injury claims. Feel free to let us know how we can help you with a referral case.
Eligibility for Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim in California
To be eligible to file a California workers’ compensation claim, you need to meet several requirements. First, you must have suffered your injury or illness while you were working at your job and while working within the scope of your employment. In other words, you must ordinarily have been performing a job-related task when you developed your illness or injury.
Workers’ compensation benefits are also available without regard to how the accident occurred and who caused it. Therefore, these benefits are essentially no-fault benefits.
Our legal team can determine if you have the necessary qualifications to file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. If you do, we can begin gathering the necessary documentation in your case, including investigation reports and medical evidence. We can then send these documents to your employer’s insurance company and get the ball rolling on your benefits claim.
Potential Workers’ Comp Benefits in Huntington Beach
The potential workers’ comp benefits that an injured worker may recover are very circumstance-specific. In most cases, workers who suffer an on-the-job injury or illness may be eligible to recover compensation for their related medical benefits. If the insurance company alleges that the injury or injuries are unrelated to the accident, then the parties may need to attend a hearing so that they can resolve the dispute. In addition, injured workers may be eligible to recover a portion of their lost earnings.
When workers sustain severe injuries in their accidents that prevent them from performing their job duties, they can qualify for vocational rehabilitation benefits. Finally, injured workers can bring a claim for various types of permanency benefits.
To recover a permanency award, a workplace accident victim must ordinarily have suffered an illness or injury that won’t improve with time, as determined by a qualified medical provider. A medical provider can physically examine the worker and state in writing, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that they do not expect the medical condition to improve. The doctor can also provide a permanency rating, expressing the level of bodily impairment that the worker suffered.
The employer’s insurance company will also send the worker for a permanency evaluation, and their doctor’s rating will likely be much lower. If the parties can agree on an impairment percentage somewhere in the middle, they can resolve the permanency aspect of their workers’ compensation claim. Otherwise, the claim may be subject to adjudication at a hearing.
At other times, the parties may settle their workers’ compensation claim via a lump sum settlement from the employer’s insurance company. However, in this circumstance, the workers’ compensation case officially closes, and if the worker develops additional symptoms or seeks additional medical treatment, they will not be eligible to recover reimbursement for those expenses through the Workers’ Compensation System.
At Bentley & More LLP, our experienced Huntington Beach workers’ compensation attorneys have strong working relationships with area medical providers and can guide you through the entire claims process. We can also represent you at all hearings in your case and pursue the highest amounts of monetary benefits available to you, given your circumstances.
Workplace Accidents in Huntington Beach that Can Lead to Devastating Injuries
People go to work to provide for themselves and their families, and nobody asks to become injured or ill while performing their job duties. Unfortunately, however, workplace accidents sometimes happen suddenly and catch a worker completely off guard.
Some of the most common occurrences that lead to workplace injuries and illnesses include:
- Electrocution that leads to burn injuries
- Fall injuries, where a worker falls to the ground from a tall ladder, rooftop, or scaffolding
- Explosions on the premises cause severe burns and other injuries
- Motor vehicle crashes that happen when a worker is operating a construction vehicle or other work vehicle
- Slip and fall accidents that occur on the workplace premises
- Rollover accidents, where a vehicle turns over, causing the occupant to suffer serious injuries
- Crush accidents, where a heavy piece of machinery or equipment crushes a worker
- Exposure to harmful and toxic chemicals in the workplace
- Fires that break out on the work site, leading to severe burns and other injuries
Waiting too long to seek legal representation in your workers’ compensation claim may jeopardize your right to recover the monetary benefits that you need. Therefore, if you suffer medical complications due to any of these workplace occurrences, you should seek out experienced legal help right away.
The Huntington Beach workers’ comp attorneys at Bentley & More LLP can help you take prompt legal action and file a claim on your behalf with your employer’s insurance company.
What Are Common Injuries and Illnesses that Workers Suffer While on the Job?
When dangers exist on a work site or in an office setting, accidents can occur and lead to various injuries and illnesses.
Some of the most common medical complications that injured workers may face include:
- Traumatic brain and head injuries, including concussions
- Full or partial paralysis injuries
- Spinal cord damage
- Broken bones
- Internal organ injuries
- Rib fractures
- Crush injuries
- Eye injuries
- Burn injuries
- Irreparable sinus and lung damage
- Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), often from performing repetitive work tasks
If you suffered an injury or illness in a workplace accident, you should go to a hospital emergency room or urgent care facility on the same day as your accident. Seeking immediate medical treatment helps ensure you are on the fast track to recovery. It also shows your employer’s insurance company that your injuries are, in fact, serious—and that they warrant favorable monetary benefits.
The Huntington Beach workers’ comp lawyers at Bentley & More LLP can begin assembling your medical documentation and other documents to introduce as part of your workers’ compensation claim. In the meantime, you may continue the medical treatment you need for your workplace injury or illness. Once your medical treatment is over, we will aggressively pursue your workers’ compensation claim through the system and represent you at any hearings you must attend.
Can I Sue a Third Party for my Workplace Accident and Injuries?
Because of the workers’ compensation system that’s in place, an injured worker in Huntington Beach is not eligible to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit directly against their employer. However, an accident victim can take similar legal action against a negligent third party.
Common examples of third-party claims that arise from workplace occurrences include:
- Filing a personal injury claim against the negligent driver of another vehicle who caused a crash on a job site
- Filing a product liability claim against an equipment manufacturer who defectively manufactured or designed the equipment, or a part of that equipment, causing it to malfunction on a job site
- Filing a claim against a repair facility for defective repair work that caused a machine or other piece of equipment to malfunction and cause injuries
- A claim for negligent supervision against a contractor, supervisor, foreman, or other project managers who failed to maintain the work site in a reasonably safe condition—for failing to maintain equipment in the proper manner
As the plaintiff in a negligence claim against a third party, the workplace accident victim has to satisfy their legal burden of proof. First, they must demonstrate that the party at fault owed them a legal duty of care they subsequently violated.
For example, if a negligent third-party driver caused a workplace accident, the accident victim must demonstrate that the driver violated their duty of care to operate a vehicle safely and carefully under the circumstances. For example, the driver might have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or they may have violated a traffic law—such as by failing to yield the right-of-way at the appropriate time or exceeding the posted speed limit.
Next, the accident victim must show that as a direct result of the other party’s negligence, the subsequent accident occurred. Finally, the injured worker must demonstrate that as a direct result of their accident, they sustained an injury or illness
The experienced Huntington Beach workers’ comp attorneys at Bentley & More LLP can help you satisfy your legal burden of proof in your personal injury case and work to maximize the monetary recovery you deserve for your injuries and related losses.
Negotiating a Third-party Claim with the Insurance Company
When recovering and maximizing third-party damages in a personal injury claim or lawsuit, you should have experienced legal representation in your corner. Insurance companies are less likely to offer you favorable monetary damages if you already received monetary benefits through the workers’ compensation system. However, our legal team can aggressively negotiate and pursue the additional compensation you deserve.
That compensation may include damages for your:
- Mental distress
- Anticipated medical expenses
- Additional care costs
- Pain and suffering
- Inconvenience
- Loss of the ability to use a body part
- Lost quality of life
- Loss of spousal companionship
Our goal is to ensure you become whole again, to the greatest extent possible, following your workplace accident. To accomplish this goal, we want to ensure that you receive all of the compensation you deserve and the benefits you recover through the Workers’ Compensation System.
Get in Touch With an Huntington Beach Workers’ Comp Lawyer Today
Greg Bentley & Keith More, Workers Compensation Lawyers
If you sustained injuries or illnesses in a workplace occurrence, you should have a skilled legal team on your side advocating for you each step of the way. Insurance companies often take advantage of unrepresented individuals and will offer them far less compensation than their case is ultimately worth. Reach out to a Huntington Beach personal injury lawyer.
At Bentley & More LLP, we can help you maximize your monetary benefits through the workers’ compensation system and then turn our attention to a potential personal injury claim. If you are eligible to file a negligence claim against a third party, we can assist you through the settlement or litigation processes and, if necessary, take your case to a jury trial or binding arbitration hearing outside of court.
For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with an Huntington Beach workers’ comp lawyer, please call us at (949) 870-3800 or contact us online.
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Bentley & More LLP -Huntington Beach Office
Phone: (949) 870-3800