Law Offices of

Frequently Asked Questions

CAUTION: IF YOU ARE SEEKING ADVICE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, FEEL FREE TO CALL US AT (650)348-6741.  THESE QUESTIONS ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION.  YOU SHOULD CONTACT AN ATTORNEY TO ANALYZE THE SPECIFIC FACTS OF YOUR SITUATION.

Q. What is Workers Compensation?

A. Workers Compensation is a system designed to provide benefits to workers who have work-related injuries, illnesses or diseases.  Broadly speaking, a work-related injury is any injury that occurs as a result of your employment.  When you have a work-related injury or illness you are entitled to benefits whether the injury was your fault, your employer's fault or nobody's fault.  In exchange for the right to receive workers compensation benefits without having to prove fault, injured workers are limited to only those benefits that are defined in the California Labor Code.  The advantage of this "no-fault" system is that an injured worker does not need to go through the lengthy and expensive process of proving fault in order to gain much needed medical and disability payments.  Unfortunately, though, the California workers compensation system has become quite complex in its own right and is often frustrating for injured workers who are attempting to receive benefits in a timely fashion.

Q. Who is Entitled to Workers Compensation Benefits?

A. Any employee who is injured on the job or becomes ill as a result of their employment is entitled to workers compensation benefits.  There are different types of injuries that are compensable in the workers compensation system.  The most common and the simplest type of injury to document is a specific injury.  For example, if a carpenter injures his back lifting a piece of lumber on the job, this would be considered a "specific" injury.  If an injury is a single occurrence it is a "specific" injury.

California law also recognizes that some injuries are "cumulative" injuries.  For example, if a carpenter lifts many heavy pieces of lumber day after day, for hours a day, and at the end of each day his back is sore, but he continues to do the heavy lifting involved in his trade for many years, until one day his back pain prevents him from working and he must get medical treatment.  This injury would be considered a cumulative injury.  There was not one single lifting incident which caused disability in this carpenter but, rather, he was injured by cumulative heavy lifting over many years.

In each example, the carpenter was injured in the course and scope of his employment and is entitled to the full benefits of the workers compensation system.  Of course, there are many more complicated examples of work-related injuries or illnesses but, essentially, an injury is either a specific injury or a cumulative injury.

Q. What are the Benefits?

A. The workers compensation system provides for the following benefits:

Medical Treatment and Expenses: you are entitled to all reasonable and necessary medical treatment to cure and relieve from the effects of your injury.  In conjunction with full payment of your medical treatment expenses, you will be reimbursed for mileage and transportation expenses to your doctor's office, to physical therapy, to the pharmacist and for similar medically necessary transportation expenses.

Temporary Disability: You are entitled to receive payments while you are temporarily disabled and off work as a result of your industrial injury.  Your temporary disability rate is calculated based on two-thirds of your average weekly wage up until an established maximum amount depending on your date of injury.  Injured workers who are temporarily disabled do not get a payment which is equivalent to their usual paycheck.  An injured worker will never receive more than two-thirds of their average weekly wage and many workers who have higher average earnings will receive less.

Permanent Disability: If your injury has left you with permanent restrictions which hamper your ability to compete in the open labor market, you will be entitled to receive additional compensation for this labor market disability.  The amount of compensation you receive is determined based on the part of your body which is injured, the extent of your symptoms and restrictions, and your age and occupation at the time of your injury.  All these factors are considered by a standard permanent disability rating formula to determine the percentage of your labor market disability.  For injured workers who have severe disabilities between 70% and 100%, there is an additional small pension which is paid for the rest of your life.

Vocational Rehabilitation: If as a result of a work-related permanent disability you are unable to return to the job you were doing at the time you were injured, you will be entitled to vocational rehabilitation benefits.  These benefits are designed to return an injured worker to the labor market as quickly as possible in an occupation which is congenial with her permanent disability.  The vocational rehabilitation process begins with assignment of a vocational rehabilitation counselor who will guide you through the various phases of returning to gainful employment.  This process includes evaluation of modified or alternative jobs with your usual employer, evaluation of transferable skills which will be useful in securing new employment, efforts at direct job placement using transferable skills, consideration of on-the-job training possibilities and, in certain circumstances, training to provide useful skills that will assist your return to the labor market.

Q. What if my Employer was Negligent?

A. Previously, we discussed the fact that the Workers Compensation system is a no-fault system designed to provide timely medical and disability benefits without the need for proving fault.  In exchange for the promise of timely benefits without protracted litigation,  injured workers lost the ability to sue their employers even if their injuries were caused by negligence.  In other words, even if your employer is negligent in causing your injury, you are limited to the benefits which are defined in the workers compensation laws-- that is, workers compensation is your exclusive remedy and you have no right to sue your employer in court for damages.

Q. What if my injury was caused by someone else's negligence?

A. While injured workers cannot sue their employer for negligence in causing their work-related injuries, there are no barriers to lawsuits against third parties who cause your injuries.  If your injury is caused by the negligence of someone other than your employer, you should contact an attorney who is experienced in handling Third Party cases.  This attorney would understand how to coordinate the complicated interaction between the workers compensation system and the additional money you might be entitled to if you were awarded damages in Superior Court. It is extremely important that you contact an experienced attorney immediately as Third Party lawsuits must be filed no later than one year from the date of your injury, or your rights will be barred.

Q. When do I need to contact an attorney?

A.Workers Compensation has become an extremely complex area of the law and variations can take place in category of benefit that we have discussed.  The only real way to insure that all your rights have been preserved and all your benefits received is to consult with an attorney who specializes in workers compensation.  Such a consultation should cost you nothing and the piece of mind obtained will be worth a lot.