A workers compensation injury is defined in California’s Labor Code Section 3208 as any injury or disease arising out of employment. It can be physical or mental (non physical) harm. To be compensable the injury must produce disability or medical treatment more than first aid.
Workers compensation benefits are usually the exclusive remedy available to the injured worker. The system is designed to compensate injured workers for disabilities that occur on the job and to provide medical treatment that is reasonable and necessary to cure or relieve the effects of an injury.
An injured worker does not have to prove anyone was at fault for causing the injury. The trade-off for the employer is there are limited damages payments that are set forth by statute. No compensation is paid for pain and suffering and other general damages like those in personal injury lawsuits. However, wages are paid while the injured worker is off work, and in some instances, additional permanent compensation or job retraining are available.
Have you suffered a serious work injury? Contact Sacramento workers’ compensation lawyer at the Law Office of Roy Yang for FREE consultation about your California workers compensation claim and medical benefits. Give us a call at (916) 269-9100 to speak with a Sacramento workers compensation attorney today.
Any injury or illness caused by your job is covered – everything from first-aid type injuries to serious accidents. Job-related illnesses are covered to some extent. For example, common colds and flue are not covered, but if you catch tuberculosis while working at a TB hospital, that is covered. Workers’ compensation may even cover psychiatric injuries that may arise if you are the victim of a crime at your workplace.
The key is whether the injury or illness is caused by your job.
It is not necessary to retain an attorney to file a workers’ compensation claim and in many cases, an attorney is never hired. For minor claims such as strains, sprains, cuts and bruises, there is often no need for legal representation. Further, even if it is determined that you will have permanent disability, many cases run very smoothly with little or no complications and can be handled without the use of an attorney.
The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board has a special department to assist applicants with general information on claims. This assistance is free. In Sacramento, the telephone number for the Information and Assistance Office of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board is (916) 263-2741.
The need for hiring a work injury attorney varies for each case. In some cases, however, you may wish to consult with a Workers’ Compensation attorney in Sacramento to assist you. Generally, the time to hire an attorney is when it is determined that you will likely have significant disability. Such determination can be made if you will need surgery or some other substantial invasive type of treatment. A Sacramento workers’ compensation attorney is only paid based on the level of permanent disability found in a claim and therefore, an attorney will likely only consider taking on a case if it is clear that there will be significant permanent disability expected.
Other complex issues may also trigger the need for a work comp attorney, including disagreement on the level of permanent disability, apportionment of disability to pre-existing or underlying conditions, vocational rehabilitation issues, disagreement as to how the injury occurred and whether or not it is an industrial injury, and complications with authorization of medical treatment or payment off benefits.
Have you suffered a serious work injury? Contact workers’ compensation attorney at the Law Office of Roy Yang for FREE consultation about your California workers compensation claim benefits. Give us a call at (916) 269-9100 to speak with a Sacramento workers compensation attorney today.