Know Your Rights
California employers must provide workers’ compensation coverage for all employees. The law applies to business owners even if they only employ a single worker, and violators can be subject to criminal and civil penalties. If your employer does not provide coverage, he or she can still be held legally responsible for paying for your injury-related expenses.
Workers’ compensation covers all types of employment-related injuries, including conditions that develop over time as a result of repetitive movement or ongoing psychological stress. You are covered whether the injury occurs in the office, while driving on behalf of your employer, or at an offsite location while you perform work-related duties. Fault is irrelevant - even if you unintentionally contributed to your own injury, you are eligible for workers' compensation.
Our firm can help you through every stage of your workers’ compensation claim.
If you are injured, or if you discover that a work-related condition has developed, it is your responsibility to report the injury to your employer within 30 days. Your approved workers’ compensation claim is designed to cover medical treatment, partial wage replacement, and other benefits.
In addition to medical care and temporary disability payments, you may be eligible for job displacement benefits. This provides funds for vocational retraining if you can no longer perform former job tasks. If your injury is severe, you may be entitled to additional financial help. Permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits are for workers with permanent injuries that prevent full employment. Permanent total disability (PTD) is for permanently injured workers who can no longer work.
Claims Denials and Other Issues
An insurer can sometimes take issue with a worker's claim, or deny it completely. The claims administrator may dispute the findings of a medical caregiver and try to limit your benefits. You have a right to challenge any decision, but this is best pursued with the help of an attorney.
Attorney Bernhard Baltaxe is a certified specialist in workers’ compensation and has helped many clients to collect maximum compensation. Byron Smith has helped many injured workers file claims and appeal decisions in order to cover all immediate and long-term losses. Our firm can help you through every stage of your workers’ compensation claim. For permanently injured clients, such as traumatic brain injury victims, we work aggressively to secure a settlement or award that can cover the expenses of coping with a lifelong disability.
Our firm has helped hundreds of victims of all types of work-related accidents, including construction accidents, traffic accidents, and electrical accidents. We also place clients in contact with trusted attorneys who can file personal injury claims when third-party negligence is a factor.
Contact Smith & Baltaxe
If you have been seriously injured at work and need help meeting the requirements for workers' compensation, filing a workers' compensation claim, or appealing denied or insufficient benefits, please contact our firm today. Time limits apply, so the sooner you reach out to an attorney, the better. We offer a free consultation and charge no up-front retainer fees. We are fluent in Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese and Tagalog.
