Nobody deserves to sustain a serious injury or illness because they were doing their job and happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you are classified as an employee in virtually any industry in California, you should have access to benefits through your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance, which should provide financial support while you are recovering from a work-related medical condition.
Unfortunately, the insurance companies that provide these benefits rarely operate with the interests of hurt and sick workers in mind, and as our experienced attorneys at Glauber Berenson Vego know all too well, these companies often jump at any excuse to deny or delay benefits to people in need of them. Seeking help from a Van Nuys workers’ compensation lawyer should be a top priority for anyone who thinks they may have grounds to file a workers’ comp claim.
In some states, only companies with certain numbers of employees are required by law to maintain workers’ compensation insurance coverage, and some places—most notably Texas—allow employers to designate themselves as non-subscribers and forego workers’ comp insurance altogether. Thankfully, California is one of many states that requires all employers with at least one full-time or part-time employee to provide workers’ comp coverage for all full-time and part-time employees.
A typical workers’ comp plan covers all injuries and illnesses stemming directly from workplace accidents and from conditions employees are exposed to while performing their normal job duties. However, workers’ comp does not cover injuries caused by horseplay, negligence by the injured employee, or injuries that technically occurred outside of normal working conditions. These are all things that insurance companies commonly use as grounds for claim denials, which a Van Nuys workers’ comp attorney could provide vital help with contesting.
Anyone who sustains a work-related injury or illness and wants to seek workers’ compensation benefits for it must notify their employer about the injury or illness in writing within 30 days of the condition being first discovered. That employer should then provide a claim form for the injured or sick worker to fill out and return to their employer, who should then fill out their own designated section of the form and send it to their workers’ compensation insurance provider.
As soon as possible after completing and returning the claim form, an injured or sick worker should seek professional medical care from an employer-approved provider and continue to follow instructions from and attend appointments with that provider as well as all recommended specialists. Once again, a workers’ comp lawyer in Van Nuys can provide more information about specific filing requirements and offer help with contesting claim denials issued by insurance companies or employers.
This is a broad summary of what is often an extremely complex endeavor in both legal and personal terms. The unfortunate truth is that workers’ compensation benefits are not nearly as easy to obtain as they should be, even for workers who meet all the criteria needed to qualify for them.
Working with a Van Nuys workers’ compensation lawyer could dramatically improve your chances of getting a favorable outcome from your claim and give you the support you deserve. Call today to learn more.
