Los Angeles Work Injury Attorney

Before the start of the 21st century, American workers who sustained one or more injuries in the workplace assumed the financial burden of diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating the injuries. American employers did not have the legal obligation to compensate employees for the costs associated with workplace accidents. That all changed in 1911 when 10 states, including California, enacted workers’ compensation laws to address the financial burden placed on injured employees. By the time the decade ended at the beginning of 1920, 36 additional states had passed some form of workers’ compensation legislation.

Workers’ compensation represents a government program managed by 49 out of the 50 states (Texas does not require employers to purchase workers’ comp insurance) that provides financial assistance for employees that sustain one or more injuries in the workplace. At the federal government level, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) establishes the regulations that define workers’ compensation insurance programs, but it is up to each state to manage workers’ compensation insurance. The workers’ comp programs managed by the states share many similarities, but a few differences exist that impact employees For example, the amount of time a worker has to inform an employer concerning an injury in the workplace differs among the 49 states that manage workers comp insurance programs.

Workers’ compensation insurance works just like any other type of insurance plan. For example, when you get involved in a car accident, you can expect your insurance company to hike your rate to account for your higher risk rating. The same principle applies to workers’ compensation insurance. Every time your employer’s insurance company has to pay out a claim, the cost of your employer’s insurance plan increases. Because of the financial implications of paying out a workers’ comp claim, many employers try to convince their insurance companies to deny valid claims. 

This is true even for the most common types of workplace accidents.

Slip and Fall

Slip and fall incidents represent the most common type of workplace accident because they can happen at any type of business. From a worker slipping and falling in a restaurant kitchen to an employee tripping over a box located in a toy warehouse, slip and fall incidents can generate serious injuries such as whiplash and brain trauma. Employees in the construction, hospitality, and home improvement retail industries are especially vulnerable to falling victim to a slip and fall incident.

Fall From an Elevated Height

Although a slip and fall can produce serious injuries, falling from a height typically leads to the development of more serious injuries that require emergency medical care. Warehouse workers that operate elevated power machines for stocking and retrieving products represent the most vulnerable type of professional who succumbs to a fall from an elevated height. A fall from just a few feet above the ground can cause a permanent disability like a damaged spinal cord and/or severe brain trauma.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Unlike falling to the floor or ground, carpal tunnel syndrome does not develop immediate symptoms. It can take years for the pain generated by a repetitive motion injury to reach a level that forces a worker to seek medical care. Because of the delayed symptoms, filing a workers’ compensation claim for a repetitive motion injury such as carpal tunnel syndrome is less likely to get approved than a claim filed for a slip and fall incident. However, working with a Los Angeles work injury from Morgan and Morgan improves your chances of receiving just compensation.

The primary objective of your Los Angeles work injury attorney is to help you file a claim that results in the awarding of workers’ compensation. California grants employees financial assistance from one or more of four broad categories.

Medical Care

Diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating a workplace injury can run into tens of thousands of dollars. Recognizing the tremendous financial burden placed on employees injured in the workplace, California has made medical care benefits the foundation for the types of financial benefits available for injured workers. If you file a workers’ compensation claim for medical care benefits in California, you must receive medical care from an approved healthcare provider listed in the California Medical Provider Network (MPN). Every qualified healthcare provider listed in the MPN follows the medical treatment standards required by a process called Utilization Review (UR).

Temporary Disability

Sustaining one or more injuries as the result of a workplace accident can take considerable time to heal the injuries. If you missed work because of the injuries sustained in the workplace, you have the right to recover the lost wages by filing a workers’ compensation for temporary disability benefits. This type of workers' compensation financial benefit assumes that an injured employee is expected to return to work at some point. California law requires an injured worker receiving temporary disability benefits to undergo a physical examination conducted by an independent physician every 45 days.

Permanent Disability

Permanent disability benefits not only cover lost wages, but they also cover the value of future wages. Calculating the value of future wages for a young worker filing for permanent disability benefits can be difficult to do because of economic uncertainties such as inflation and the future compensation received for the permanently injured employee’s occupation. California operates under a permanent disability standard that requires assigning a rating for the severity of an employee’s injury on a scale from zero to 100. According to California workers’ compensation law, injured employees designated with a permanent disability that can no longer work receive financial assistance for the rest of their lives.

Job Displacement

Workers in California that receive the designation of living with a permanent disability as the result of a workplace accident have the right to request financial assistance for job displacement if they can work another job. The supplemental income voucher can be worth as much as $6,000 depending on the type of permanent disability. To qualify for job displacement benefits, your employer must offer you a job that compensates you at a rate that is at least 85 percent of what you earned for the job you held before the workplace accident. The new job offered to you also must be located within a reasonable commuting distance from your home.

Hiring the right workers’ compensation lawyer to handle your case requires you to conduct extensive research before making a decision. You should consider the following factors to ensure you hire the most qualified Los Angeles work injury attorney.

Experience Handling California Workers’ Compensation Cases

The lawyer you hire to handle your workers’ compensation claim should have compiled considerable experience helping clients file workers’ comp claims in California. Ideally, you should consider lawyers who specialize in handling California workers’ compensation cases. An attorney who practices other types of law might not have the same level of knowledge as an attorney who specializes in practicing workers’ compensation law.

Represents Employees

One of the most glaring red flags to look for when searching for a workers’ compensation lawyer concerns the representation of employers during the claim process. An attorney who represents employers might have a conflict of interest that can diminish the strength of your claim. At Morgan and Morgan, you can rest assured that the Los Angeles work injury attorney assigned to your case works exclusively for employees.

Provides Legal Support From Start to Finish

The last thing you can afford to deal with is hiring a workers’ compensation lawyer who meets with you for a free case evaluation, only to disappear for the remainder of your case. Some workers’ compensation lawyers delegate legal responsibilities to less experienced attorneys or even to paralegals. At Morgan and Morgan, you can expect the experienced and highly-rated workers’ compensation attorney to provide legal support until the conclusion of your case.

Responsive Communicator

Waiting for a decision to be made on a workers’ compensation insurance claim often generates a substantial amount of stress. A Los Angeles work injury attorney who does not promptly return emails, phone calls, and text messages exacerbates an already high-stress level. The workers’ compensation claim process can change speeds and directions at any moment, which means your lawyer must communicate with you in real-time whenever something changes. This is especially true if your claim requires the submission of more medical documents within a short time frame.

Positive Reviews

Although client testimonials should not be the only criterion you use when choosing the right Los Angeles work injury attorney, client testimonials can be the final factor that seals the deal. We encourage you to read the thousands of positive reviews left by our clients on sites such as Yelp and Google. Morgan and Morgan has received more than 55,000 five-star reviews on Google, with many clients praising our integrity and transparency.

Sustaining one or more injuries as the result of a workplace accident can cause you a great deal of pain, create financial distress for you and your family, and can seemingly put your normal life on pause. However, you don’t have to go through this challenging time alone.

Act with a sense of urgency and team up with a Los Angeles injury attorney who cares. Contact Morgan and Morgan today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation to get started.