Our attorneys have been assisting the Orange County and Southern California communities for over 40 years.
Sustaining a workplace injury can lead to significant setbacks for a victim. Any worker injured in the Santa Ana area deserves to receive their rightful workers’ compensation benefits. Unfortunately, there are times when aggressive insurance carriers or employers delay or deny workers’ comp claims. At DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo, our team is here to help when you need a Santa Ana workers’ compensation attorney by your side.
We have the resources necessary to fully investigate work injury claims, and we know what it takes to stand up to insurance carriers and employers to make sure that our clients receive the compensation they are entitled to. Additionally, we are ready to pursue a personal injury lawsuit against any third party on behalf of our clients if necessary to ensure that they are fully compensated.
California has strong worker protection laws, and this includes ensuring that almost every employee in the state is covered through workers’ compensation insurance. Additionally, employers in this state are required to abide by regulations set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and its state counterpart CAL/OSHA.
The workers’ compensation system in California is designed to be a “no-fault” system. This means is that injured employees are entitled to receive various types of benefits regardless of how the injury occurred. So long as an injury took place while an employee was performing job-related duties, they will typically be entitled to workers’ comp benefits.
At DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo, we understand that workplace injuries can happen to anybody, regardless of what industry they are employed in. If we turn to data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), we can see that there were around 2.8 million non-fatal injuries or illnesses across the US during the latest reporting year.
Workers in Santa Ana often sustain a range of injuries that lead to them needing workers’ compensation benefits. Our attorneys regularly help clients who have sustained the following types of injuries:
Additionally, we also know that workplace injury victims sustain injuries and illnesses that occur over longer periods of time. This can include repetitive motion injuries that can take months or years to develop. Our attorneys also acknowledge that many occupational illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and some types of cancers, do not show up until years after a person has been exposed to hazardous conditions in the workplace.
Workplace injuries can occur in a wide variety of ways, and our experienced Santa Ana personal injury lawyers regularly discover the following causes of the injuries listed above:
Workers’ compensation insurance in California is designed to provide a range of benefits if a worker sustains an on-the-job injury. Our Santa Ana workers’ compensation attorneys help clients recover the following types of compensation:
Additionally, we can also help family members recover death benefits in the event a workplace accident or illness results in a fatality.
The total amount of compensation available to victims in these cases will vary depending on various factors related to each particular situation. In general, all medical expenses related to the injury will receive coverage. Admittedly, the state does use complex formulas when it comes to determining how much compensation to pay victims for any permanent injuries. Our attorneys have extensive experience helping clients recover maximum compensation for their temporary and permanent injuries.
In most situations, any workplace injury victim will file a claim with the workers’ compensation system in California. As we have discussed, workers’ compensation is designed to be a no-fault insurance system, which means individuals can file a claim regardless of who caused the injury. This type of system also prevents individuals from filing a lawsuit directly against their employer or a co-worker.
However, there are some circumstances where it would be appropriate to file a third-party personal injury lawsuit after a work injury occurs. If an individual or entity other than the employer or co-worker caused the workplace injury, this typically allows an individual to file a third-party lawsuit to recover additional types of compensation. However, this is not a no-fault system, and individuals who file a third-party claim will have to prove the negligence of the other party. This will involve gathering evidence to determine liability.
If a third-party work injury claim is successful, individuals will be able to recover compensation for their medical bills, all lost wages, as well as pain and suffering losses.
It is absolutely critical for work injury victims to report their injuries as soon as possible to their employer or their supervisor. If you sustain a workplace injury, there are various deadlines that you need to be aware of, and the reporting deadline is perhaps the most important. Individuals have 30 days from the date an injury occurs to report the injury to a supervisor or an employer in Santa Ana. However, we strongly encourage individuals not to wait the entire 30 days to report an injury if they know they have sustained one. It is best to report the injury on the same day it occurs in order to ensure that workers’ compensation benefits are paid in a timely manner.
However, after a person reports a workplace injury or illness, they do not necessarily have to file their workers’ compensation claim immediately. The California workers’ compensation statute of limitations is one year after the injury occurs. Failing to file the workers’ compensation claim within this timeframe will likely mean that a person becomes unable to recover the compensation they are entitled to.
There are various exceptions to the workers’ compensation statute of limitations, particularly if the injury or illness is not known right away. For example, it is not uncommon for those who sustain repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome or occupational illnesses like lung disease to not know they have been harmed right away. The one-year statute of limitations clock will not start ticking until a person receives a diagnosis from a medical professional.
If you or somebody you care about has sustained a workplace injury, we encourage you to contact an attorney as soon as possible, particularly if you have any questions about recovering compensation from the insurance carrier. Additionally, if the injury was caused by a party other than the employer, your reporting deadline may be a little bit different because you would likely be able to file a third-party civil lawsuit in court.
If you or somebody you care about has sustained a workplace injury but are having trouble receiving the compensation you are entitled to, contact the team at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo for help as soon as possible. Our attorneys have decades of experience handling complex injury claims, and we have built the infrastructure necessary to fully support our clients. Our Orange County injury lawyers will investigate your work injury case, stand up to aggressive insurance carriers, and represent you throughout every step of this process. When you need a Santa Ana workers’ compensation attorney, you can contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling us at (714) 783-2205.