If you are injured on the job, then you likely qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. By learning more about workers’ compensation, you can decide to file for benefits and reach out to a lawyer for help.
Qualifying for Workers’ Compensation
You may qualify for workers’ compensation if you have a work-related illness or injury. The injury may happen suddenly or be the result of prolonged actions called a cumulative trauma (i.e. you got carpal tunnel from doing the same repetitive action over time). Your employer is required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance. You must meet the California deadline for filing a workers’ compensation case with the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board court. The statute of limitations for filing a workers’ compensation claim in California is within one year of when you knew or should have known of your industrial injury or illness. This timeline may be extended in certain circumstances such as one year from the last payment of workers’ comp benefits.
What About a Third-Party Injury?
Let’s say you were at work when you got injured, but your employer was not at fault. For instance, a delivery person from a different employer rear-ended your vehicle while you were driving for work and hurt you. In that case, you’d file a personal injury claim with the delivery person’s insurance company as well as a workers’ compensation claim with your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance. Our office works directly with personal injury attorneys in such third-party/workers’ compensation injuries. Since the workers’ compensation and third party cases affect each other substantially it is important to have attorneys that work closely together on the personal injury and workers’ compensation matters.
Do I Need a Lawyer?
Whether you’re filing a workers’ compensation or personal injury claim, hiring a lawyer will help you obtain benefits. Lawyers work hard to maximize those benefits in your best interest.
Contacting Timmons, Tichy & Associates, Inc.
If you’ve been injured on the job in California, then contact the workers’ compensation attorneys Timmons, Tichy & Associates, Inc. at (916) 444-0321 for a free consultation. We look forward to hearing from you.
