Workplace accidents can occur just as easily in an office building, hospital, or nursing home setting as on a Newport Beach high-rise construction project, such as a beachfront hotel or condominium. These accidents may also lead to devastating illnesses and injuries, which leave workers incapacitated for a significant time. Medical bills often mount up quickly, and individuals may be unable to work, given their debilitating injuries.
Fortunately, victims of workplace accidents can file a claim to recover workers’ compensation benefits. In some instances, they may also be eligible to file a third-party claim based on negligence.
If you suffered injuries in a workplace occurrence that left you with medical complications, you have legal options available to you. Your first step should be to seek medical treatment as quickly as possible, including following up at a hospital emergency room or urgent care facility. Next, you should talk with a Newport Beach workers’ compensation lawyer as quickly as possible. Waiting too long to seek legal help after your workplace accident might prevent you from recovering monetary benefits and damages.
The experienced Newport Beach workers’ comp attorneys at Bentley & More LLP can help you file a claim for the benefits you deserve promptly and efficiently. We can also determine your eligibility for filing a personal injury claim—or a lawsuit against a third party—based on negligence.
Our legal team has recovered millions of dollars in compensation for our injured clients. Let us help you pursue the maximum monetary recovery you need for the injury or illness you suffered at your job.
For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with a skilled Newport Beach workers’ comp lawyer, please call us or contact us online to learn more.
Special note for other law firms: Our law firm has the experience and resources to handle catastrophic work injury and complicated personal injury cases. We also take referrals to assist other law firms with particularly tough cases. Please call us to learn whether we can accept your serious injury case referral.
Filing a Claim for Workers’ Compensation Benefits in California
Victims of workplace occurrences that lead to injuries and illnesses may be eligible to pursue a claim for various benefits. To successfully file a workers’ compensation claim, you must demonstrate that you suffered an adverse medical condition while at your job and while performing a job duty. This typically means that at the time of your workplace accident, you were acting within the scope of your employment.
Unlike a personal injury claim or lawsuit, workers’ compensation claims are no-fault claims. Therefore, an accident victim does not need to demonstrate that another individual or entity was negligent for them to recover various monetary benefits.
Generally speaking, only employees can bring a claim for workers’ compensation benefits in California. Individuals who work as independent contractors are not eligible to recover these benefits if they suffer an injury while working. An employee receives a W-2 document at tax time, while an independent contractor receives a Form-1099.
In addition, individuals who suffer injuries while going to or coming from work are not ordinarily eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. For example, if they become involved in a motor vehicle crash that happens on their way to work, they will not be eligible to make a claim against their employer’s insurer for monetary benefits.
Our legal team can meet with you to discuss how your accident happened and determine your eligibility for recovering various workers’ compensation benefits.
If you can file a claim, we can:
- Gather the various documents about your accident, including police reports (if a motor vehicle was involved) or witness statements
- Obtain medical treatment records and bills from your medical providers
Once we obtain all the necessary documentation, we can send it to your employer’s insurance company and open a workers’ compensation claim on your behalf. Throughout the process, we can address your concerns and keep you abreast of all new developments in your case.
We can also represent you at a workers’ compensation hearing if a dispute arises throughout your matter. Our legal team will do everything possible to help you maximize your monetary benefits and ensure that you recover the compensation you deserve for your workplace illness or injury.
Injuries and Illnesses that Accident Victims Suffer While on the Job
Workers can suffer various types of injuries or illnesses due to workplace occurrences. The adverse medical conditions that a worker suffers will usually depend upon their line of work, as well as the circumstances of their workplace occurrence.
Although individuals in the building and construction industries are prone to severe injuries due to their working around dangerous and heavy equipment, office workers, nursing home workers, and school teachers are equally prone to suffering severe injuries on the job under the right circumstances.
Some of the most common workplace injuries that employees suffer include:
- Broken bones
- Rib fractures
- Traumatic head and brain injuries
- Internal organ damage
- Internal bleeding
- Crush injuries
- Lung and sinus damage
- Breathing difficulties
- Permanent soft tissue injuries
- Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)
- Death
If you suffer any of these injuries in a workplace occurrence, your top priority should be to seek the medical treatment that you need. Waiting too long to seek medical treatment after an accident might cause your injury to become significantly worse. This is especially true if you suffered a traumatic head or brain injury (such as a concussion), where the symptoms may not appear until several days after your accident.
In addition, seek prompt medical treatment. Insurance companies and their adjusters often become skeptical when workplace accident victims fail to seek immediate medical treatment. In fact, they may believe that because of the delay, the claimed injuries are not all that serious.
While you focus your attention on recovering from your workplace injuries, our legal team can begin gathering the necessary documents to present your workers’ compensation claim to the insurance company. After you finish your treatment or reach maximum medical improvement with permanent injuries, we can officially start the claims-filing process on your behalf and work to get you the benefits you deserve.
How do Workplace Accidents Usually Happen?
Workplace occurrences can happen for any number of reasons, ranging from negligence to pure chance.
Some of the most common on-the-job circumstances that lead to workers’ compensation claims include:
- Motor vehicle accidents that happen when a worker operates a vehicle on a job site—or on a public road as part of their job duties
- Slip and fall accidents that occur on the work premises
- Occurrences that result from defective machinery and equipment, when a product manufacturer or other entity in the chain of product distribution fails to perform the necessary tests to ensure product safety
- Explosions that occur on work premises
- Exposure to toxic chemicals at the workplace
- Falls from scaffolding, ladders, and rooftops
- Constant movement of the hands or wrists may lead to carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)
- Electrocution due to faulty wiring
If you suffered an illness or injury at your workplace due to one of these occurrences, the knowledgeable Newport Beach workers’ comp attorneys at Bentley & More LLP can explain your legal options and help you develop a comprehensive plan for your case. We can then help you file a claim and represent you at all hearings during your legal matter.
What Benefits Can I Recover Through the Workers’ Comp System in California?
Depending upon the extent of your workplace injury or illness, you may be eligible for various damages through the Workers’ Compensation System. The benefits you recover will depend primarily on the extent of your medical condition and your ability or inability to work after your incident. Another consideration is whether you suffered a permanent injury or impairment in your workplace accident.
First, you may be eligible to recover monetary compensation for all of your injury-related medical expenses. You can also recover a portion of your lost income. If you suffered a workplace injury that prevents you from returning to the same job or occupation because of lifting or moving restrictions, you might be eligible to pursue vocational rehabilitation benefits. For example, you can meet with a counselor to help you find a comparable position with lighter work duties.
Injured California workers may also be eligible to recover various permanency benefits. A permanent injury is likely to affect the accident victim for the rest of their life. They may experience ongoing symptoms, including pain, from which they may never recover. To recover permanency benefits, we can send you to a medical provider for a physical examination. In addition, the provider can draft a permanency evaluation report, quantifying your permanent impairment with a percentage rating.
At Bentley & More LLP, we have strong working relationships with area medical providers who can render a permanency opinion in your case. Once the report is complete, we can submit it to your employer’s insurance company and pursue the total monetary benefits you deserve for your permanent injury or illness.
Finally, if a worker dies due to a job-related accident, surviving family members can recover various death benefits through the California Workers’ Compensation System.
Third Parties Who Cause Workplace Accidents
In some instances, victims of workplace accidents can bring a personal injury claim or lawsuit against a third party who commits an act of negligence.
Some common examples of third-party claims that result from workplace accidents include:
- Circumstances where a work injury results from a defective product, such as where a manufacturer fails to properly test the product or manufacture/design it in the proper way
- Workplace accidents that result from negligent repair work that a facility performed on a machine or vehicle
- Motor vehicle crashes that involve work vehicles, where another driver negligently caused the accident due to a traffic law violation
- Accidents that result from the actions or inactions of site supervisors, like project managers, contractors, and foremen
To recover monetary damages as part of a third-party claim, you will need to demonstrate that the responsible individual or entity violated their legal duty of care. For example, a construction site supervisor might have failed to maintain the equipment on the site, causing it to malfunction and injure a worker. In addition, the accident victim must establish that the responsible party’s careless actions or inactions caused the subsequent accident, as well as the injury or illness they suffered.
Establishing medical causation can be extremely difficult in a personal injury claim or lawsuit. Therefore, you should have a medical provider on board in your case who’s willing to testify. Our legal team can help you satisfy the legal elements of your personal injury claim, including retaining experts to help you fulfill your legal burden.
In addition, our legal team can negotiate with insurance company adjusters handling your third-party case. Aggressive settlement negotiations are essential at this stage since many adjusters will try to lowball their offers if the accident victim has already recovered workers’ compensation benefits. However, these benefits may not have been sufficient to adequately compensate the accident victim for the full extent of their losses and damages.
We can handle all settlement negotiations with insurance company adjusters on your behalf and, if necessary, file a lawsuit in your case against all potentially responsible parties. We will then work to maximize the compensation you recover through the personal injury litigation process.
Potential damages may include monetary recovery for your:
- Future medical bills
- Inconvenience
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of use of a body part
- Loss of spousal companionship
- Loss of life enjoyment
Speak with a Knowledgeable Newport Beach Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
Greg Bentley & Keith More, Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
If you suffered an injury or illness while on the job, the skilled legal team at Bentley & More LLP is ready to assist you throughout your case. We can help you seek monetary benefits through the workers’ compensation system, and in some instances, by filing a third-party personal injury claim or lawsuit. Reach out to a Newport Beach personal injury lawyer.
For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with a skilled Newport Beach workers’ comp lawyer, please call us at (949) 870-3800 or contact us online.
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Bentley & More LLP – Newport Beach Office
4931 Birch Street
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Phone: (949) 870-3800