Workers' Compensation

Obtaining Payment for Work-Related Injuries in Chico

Were you injured on the job? If so, it is likely that you are entitled to workers' compensation benefits. These are insurance benefits that provide injured employees with medical care and monthly payments to help you cover your regular expenses while out of work. The state of California has certain workers' compensation rules established, including rules that are designed to protect employees who were injured due to their work-related duties. Yet, even with these rules, there are many workers who face difficulty obtaining the workers' comp benefits to which they are fully entitled. There are various tactics that employers and the insurance companies use to try to challenge these types of claims.

About Workplace Injuries

Workplace injuries and occupational illnesses can occur in many different ways and settings. A worker could be injured while using machinery on a factory floor, while driving a company vehicle in order to make deliveries, while dealing with hazardous materials at construction site, or while taking part in various other work-related duties.

Some injuries and illnesses occur over longer periods of time rather than from single incidents-such as injures that are caused by repetitive motions that are performed as part of one's job. The injuries might be minor and only require limited treatment and recovery time; or, they might be catastrophic, leading to drastic changes in the injury victim's life. In some cases, injured workers are permanently disabled.

It is important for workers to immediately notify their employers after they are injured. According to California's Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC), failing to take this action within 30 days of the injury's occurrence can lead to the potential loss of one's rights to claim workers' comp benefits. Failing to obtain medical attention in a timely manner could also create problems with one's workers' comp claim.

Workers' Comp in California

There are certain types of employers who are required by law to either obtain workers' comp benefits or to become self-insured. There are five types of workers' compensation benefits that are available to injured workers. These include medical care, temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits, supplemental job replacement benefits (which pay for job training for those who cannot return to their previous positions or jobs) and death benefits (for the family members of workers who were fatally injured).

Employers and insurance companies will sometimes try to protect their own financial interests by challenging legitimate claims for workers' compensation. They might do this by claiming that the injury was not actually work-related, that the employee is faking his or her injury or that the injury was caused by the employee's own reckless actions (such as the worker's impairment by drugs or alcohol). If your workers' compensation has been unfairly denied because of these of these or other reasons, you can turn to the Law Office of Adam Sorrells for assistance with challenging your denial.

Contacting a Chico Workers' Compensation Lawyer at The Law Office of Adam Sorrells

Going through the physical pain and being unable to work is difficult enough without having to fight for the payment that you need for your recovery. For this reason, our law firm is here to act and advocate on your behalf. Attorney Adam Sorrells has a track record for successfully challenging large-scale companies, so you can trust that he has what it takes to deal with an uncooperative employer in your case.