Workers Comp Lawyer – Welcome to our definitive guide to workers’ compensation. Kneisler & Schondel is an employment law firm located in Santa Rosa, California. The California workers’ compensation system can be overwhelming and difficult to navigate on your own. In this guide, we aim to answer all of your questions about workers’ compensation and more.
California’s workers’ compensation system allows California workers to receive benefits if they are injured on the job. Workers’ compensation benefits must be a fair and effective way to ensure that injured workers receive the treatment they need, as well as ongoing payments to replace at least a portion of their wages until they recover from their injuries and are able to return. work
Contents
- Workers Comp Lawyer
- Boise Workers Compensation Lawyers
- Meet The Award Winning Workers Compensation Lawyers In Philadelphia Pa
- Difference Between A Personal Injury & Workers Comp Attorney
- Questions To Ask Your Workers Comp Lawyer
- How Does My Workers’ Comp Lawyer Get Paid In Florida State?
- What To Look For When Vetting And Hiring Workers Compensation Lawyers
- The Benefits Of Hiring A Worker’s Compensation Lawyer
Workers Comp Lawyer
If employers suffer a permanent injury, workers’ compensation provides permanent disability benefits according to schedules adopted by the State of California. Although the schedules are intended to treat workers equally, disputes often arise as to the benefits an injured worker should receive.
Boise Workers Compensation Lawyers
Employers must maintain workers’ compensation insurance or have an approved self-insurance plan. Employers submit workers’ compensation claims to a claims administrator.
Claims administrators work for employers or their insurance companies, not employees. A claims administrator’s job is to save money for the insurance company, which may mean paying an injured worker less than the worker is entitled to. Claims managers understand the complex rules that govern workers’ compensation and therefore have an advantage in handling claims by unrepresented workers.
Claims administrators sometimes dispute an employee’s entitlement to benefits. When an employee files for permanent disability benefits, claims administrators often contest the amount of benefits the employee should receive. To equalize the bargaining power and ensure fair treatment, injured workers in Northern California can protect their right to full compensation by seeking the help of an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.
At Kneisler & Schondel in Santa Rosa, attorney Matthew A. Schondel uses his two decades of experience to counsel injured workers, represent them in negotiations with claims administrators, and take their claims to a workers’ compensation judge when the administrator refuses to settle. on reasonable terms. Kneisler & Schondel’s workers’ compensation team helps workers in Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Mendocino and other Northern California counties navigate the confusing rules that govern a workplace injury claim. We fight to ensure that every injured worker is fully compensated under the laws and regulations governing workplace injury cases in California.
Meet The Award Winning Workers Compensation Lawyers In Philadelphia Pa
Workers’ compensation claims are quite different from personal injury claims. Personal injury law is based on fault. For example, if a car accident results in an injury, the victim must prove that the other driver was at fault as a condition for receiving compensation. This usually means proving that the other driver was negligent and that the driver’s negligence contributed to the victim’s injury.
Proving fault can be difficult and time-consuming if responsibility for the accident is unclear or disputed. If the witnesses do not agree on the facts, the outcome of a personal injury lawsuit can be uncertain.
The workers’ compensation system eliminates the need to prove fault. With limited exceptions, an employee is entitled to compensation for an injury that occurs on the job, even if the employee’s own negligence caused or contributed to the injury.
Because fault is rarely an issue, the workers’ compensation system allows for quick resolution of claims with predictable results in most cases. These decisions are made by an administrative system, not by a jury.
Difference Between A Personal Injury & Workers Comp Attorney
Insurance companies, however, try to pay as little as possible. They could claim that the injury was not work-related. They may claim that the injury is less serious than the employee claims. A personal injury attorney can protect an injury victim’s right to receive the full compensation provided by law.
All California workers, including part-time and temporary workers, are entitled to compensation if they are injured on the job. Workers who are not legal residents of the United States and certain workers who are classified by their employers as independent contractors may also receive compensation benefits.
Victims are also allowed to return to work after the injury has healed. It is illegal to fire an employee for receiving or reporting an injury or for seeking workers’ compensation.
SANTA ROSA ATTORNEY MATTHEW A. SHONDELL ANSWERS YOUR CALIFORNIA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION QUESTIONS Who is eligible for workers’ compensation?
Questions To Ask Your Workers Comp Lawyer
Almost all workers who suffer a compensable injury or medical condition are eligible for compensation if they work for an employer in California. They may also be eligible for California workers’ compensation if they work in California for an out-of-state employer. Employees of out-of-state employers should consult with a Kneisler & Schondel workers’ compensation attorney to determine whether they should receive compensation benefits in California or in the employer’s home state.
Part-time workers are eligible for compensatory benefits. Workers who are not legal residents of the United States are also eligible.
Workers who are self-employed are not entitled to compensatory benefits. However, some employers misclassify workers as independent contractors to avoid worker protections required by law. For example, an employee who works for only one employer, who works in employer-designated workplaces, who works during employer-designated hours, who must follow the employer’s instructions and who is closely supervised by the employer, may be eligible. for workers’ compensation, even if the business pays that worker as an independent contractor.
A Kneisler & Schondel workers’ compensation attorney can evaluate an injured employee’s performance to determine whether the employee should be classified as an employee eligible for workers’ compensation.
How Does My Workers’ Comp Lawyer Get Paid In Florida State?
A compensable injury is a work-related injury or medical condition that entitles the employee to benefits. What benefits the employee will receive depends on whether the employee:
Injuries can be one-off (usually caused by accidents at work) or they can develop over time. Examples of injuries and health conditions that develop over time include repetitive motion injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, and diseases caused by repeated exposure to toxic substances in the workplace, such as silicosis.
When a claims administrator challenges compensation, the claims administrator usually alleges (1) that the employee is faking the injury or (2) that the employee pretended that the injury was work-related when it was actually caused by something the employee did on . at home or in another place away from work.
Injuries and illnesses are compensable if they “occur as a result of and in the course of employment” and are “related to employment.” These phrases are interpreted broadly to include most injuries that occur while on the job, while waiting for work to be done at the workplace, or during any activity that is part of the job or that benefits the employer.
What To Look For When Vetting And Hiring Workers Compensation Lawyers
An injury that occurs while an employee is off-duty is generally not work-related. Commuting to work before the start of the work day and driving home after the work day is usually not work-related. However, driving from home to a place of work that is some distance from the employee’s usual place of work may be considered work-related.
Injuries caused by traffic accidents are compensable if the injured employee’s trip at the time of the accident was related to work. Tasks such as delivering groceries, traveling to a client meeting, picking up merchandise, or running errands for the boss are usually work-related, even if they occur in the employee’s free time.
Other injuries may or may not be work-related, depending on the facts. These include, for example, injuries sustained during company excursions or during company-sponsored sporting events. A workers’ compensation attorney at Kneisler & Schondel can help injured workers understand whether their injuries are work-related.
Workers are entitled to compensation for work-related injuries, regardless of whether the employer is at fault. An injury that results from an employee’s own negligence is usually compensable.
The Benefits Of Hiring A Worker’s Compensation Lawyer
The main exceptions to this rule are injuries that are self-inflicted by the employee or caused by the employee’s use of alcohol or drugs. Additionally, the employee who started the fight cannot receive compensation for injuries caused by the fight. However, a victim of a fight who was not the aggressor is usually entitled to help if the fight happened at work.
The law prohibits an employer from firing an injured employee simply because he or she is injured or has filed a workers’ compensation claim. In most cases, workers injured on the job must file claims for compensation through the California workers’ compensation system. Employees generally cannot sue employers who have followed California workers’ compensation laws, even if the employer’s negligence caused the injury.
However, in some cases, it is possible to sue third parties in addition to or instead of workers’ compensation. For example, if a negligent driver causes a work-related car accident, the driver can be sued. The workers’ compensation insurance company may then be entitled to recover payments from the injured worker’s negligent driver settlement. This is important for workers’ compensation
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