Both employees and employers have a lot to worry about when an injury occurs on the job. For employees, they may face time off work and medical bills alongside the pain from the injury itself. For employers, they may face increased insurance premiums, which can be a serious matter for smaller employers. As an employee, you want to maximize the workers' compensation payout while the employer may want to minimize it. These contrary goals create tension that can result in delayed worker compensation claims.
At Shawn Gol Law, P.C., our workers' comp lawyer, along with our team in Los Angeles can help. Contact us at (310) 900-0809.
California's Basic Process to File a Workers' Compensation Claim
Workers' compensation is a type of insurance employers carry to prevent unnecessary litigation and provide financial support for employees injured on the job. It can cover lost wages, medical care, and rehabilitation. How workers' compensation is regulated and administered varies from state to state, but some features are common – filing a workers' compensation is one example of a feature that shares many similar characteristics across the board.
Challenges to the Workers' Comp Claims Process
Unfortunately, problems often arise in the workers' compensation process. Some of the most common challenges involve situations where an employee fails to timely report an injury, the injury is not adequately demonstrated, the claims process takes too long, or the claim gets denied.
Injury Not Proven
There are several issues that can arise with the injury itself. First of all, the employee may have a problem proving that the injury actually occurred, or if it did occur, that it happened during the course of their employment. A lack of witnesses to the accident can hurt an employee's claim that the injury happened at work. In extreme cases where the employee suffers significant harm, it may be necessary to bring in experts to testify as to how the accident occurred.
Another problem that occurs is the employer or workers' compensation attorney will admit that an injury took place, they just disagree as to the extent of that injury. Because of this discrepancy, employees need to be intentional in proving the extent of their injuries from day one. This means holding on to all medical documentation, including doctor's notes and prescription information. Pictures and videos of the injuries are very helpful as well.
Claim Denial
Having a legitimate claim for benefits denied by the workers' compensation carrier is extremely frustrating for an injured employee. There are many reasons why this happens, from simple clerical errors to a denial based on lack of evidence. The good news is that a denial does not have to be the end of the road for the employee. They are able to take steps to have the denial appealed or reconsidered. A workers' compensation attorney is generally very helpful when this happens.
Contact a Workers' Comp Attorney in Los Angeles Today
Injuries that affect your ability to work can dramatically affect your life, and so if you suffer a work-related injury, you should be compensated for it. At the same time, if an employee is not injured on the job, employers are not responsible for it. The line determining responsibility can often be blurred, and so tension often arises between the employee and employer. When that happens, workers' compensation may be delayed or denied.
At Shawn Gol Law, P.C., our workers' comp lawyer, along with our team in Los Angeles can help. Contact us at (310) 900-0809.