Recent Blog Posts
What You Should Know About Radiation Exposure in the Workplace
Radiation is a form of energy that travels through space in waves. The sun, for example, produces massive amounts of radiation in the form of heat and light upon which we rely for our very existence. Similarly, a microwave oven uses radiation to agitate water molecules in food, which, in turn, heats the food, leaving it perfectly safe to eat. Even the music you hear coming from the speakers in your car is being transmitted to your ear as radio waves—yet another form of radiation. Some kinds of radiation, however, are not quite so benign, and they have the power to cause injury and even death.
Every day, thousands of workers in hundreds of different jobs are exposed to various types of radiation in the course of their work. If you have been exposed to unsafe levels of radiation and you have suffered illness or injury as a result, you may be entitled to collect workers’ compensation benefits.
Workplace Injuries in the Nursing Industry
It almost goes without saying that workplace injuries can happen in any industry. However, some professionals are more likely to experience an injury than others. For example, the construction industry is well known for its high rate of work injuries and fatalities. There is also another high-risk industry – the healthcare field—but it does not receive the same amount of attention as it should. Perhaps this is due, in part, to the reduced risk of immediate fatality from an injury. Whatever the reason for the lack of discussion may be, injuries in the healthcare field deserve to be talked about.
Nurses Are Especially Prone to Back Injuries
On any given day, a nurse can cumulatively lift thousands of pounds. They must move patients and may even be required to help a person up that has passed out or fallen. Rarely is there equipment nearby to help – and even when there is, the situation may be too emergent to wait for the machinery to do its job. So, nurses lift. They bend. They lift and bend, all at the same time. Good body mechanics can help, but it is far from fail-proof.
Workers’ Compensation and Suing Your Employer
Every year, nearly three million American workers are hurt on the job. These injuries cost U.S. companies tens of billions of dollars in reduced productivity, to say nothing of the costs related to treating the injured workers and helping them recover. With this in mind, the workers’ compensation system was developed to help ensure that injured employees receive financial benefits to cover their medical expenses, the costs associated with retraining for new jobs, and a percentage of their lost wages. While workers’ compensation benefits are available and suitable for most work injury cases, you might be wondering if you have the ability to sue your employer for additional compensation.
Fault Is Not a Consideration
In California, as in other states, the workers’ compensation program is set up as a no-fault system that affords certain protections for employees in the event that they get hurt at work. As a no-fault system, workers’ compensation benefits are meant to be available without regard to whether an injury is caused by the negligence or actions of the injured employee or the employer. If an injured employee had to prove negligence on the part of the employer in order to collect benefits, far fewer workers’ compensation claims would ever be paid, and thousands of injured employees would be left without much hope of collecting anything.
Top 4 Types of Workplace Accidents in Office Buildings
When you think of Workers’ Compensation, you are likely to picture people who work on construction sites or in the oil fields, not at a desk. Certainly, those who are working around dangerous machinery, heavy equipment, or dangerous chemicals are more likely to get hurt on the job. However, it is not just blue-collar tradesmen and manual laborers who sustain workplace injuries. Office employees can also be injured at work, and they just as eligible for Workers’ Compensation as any other type of worker.
While you may be statistically much safer sitting behind a desk in an office, white-collar professionals can and do get injured at work. If you have been injured while working in an office building, you may want to speak to a lawyer for help with the process of getting Workers’ Compensation.
Injuries Office Workers Are at Risk For
What Kind of Proof Helps in a Workers' Compensation Case?
Evidence is everything in a Workers’ Compensation claim. In order to prove your case, you will need to show not only that your injury is genuine, but that it is work-related and prevents you from performing your job duties. One way that some employers will try to wriggle out of paying Workers’ Compensation is by arguing that an employee’s injury could have happened elsewhere or been caused by something other than your work. Gathering the right evidence, and quickly, can make or break a Workers’ Compensation case. It is important to speak with an attorney as soon as possible after getting hurt on the job so that they can advise you on what type of proof to gather, both right away, and while you are away from work recovering.
Types of Evidence You May Need for Workers’ Compensation
The path to getting compensation for a routine work injury is meant to be a bit more streamlined than the path to getting compensation for say, a car accident or a slip-and-fall. However, this is not always the case. Some employers are quite cooperative and will readily help an injured worker recover these payments. Others will fight back and try anything to get out of paying.
Should I Worry About Retaliation for Filing a Workers' Compensation Claim?
One of the more common reasons that injured workers may avoid filing a Workers’ Compensation claim is a fear of retaliation. Especially in difficult economic circumstances, employees may be very fearful of losing a good job. It may seem preferable to deal with a worksite injury alone, through your own medical insurance rather than risking job loss during the next round of layoffs. However, in California, it is illegal for an employer to fire someone for filing a claim with Workers’ Compensation. Doing so would be a form of wrongful termination, and you could have legal recourse. If a fear of retaliation is keeping you from filing for Workers’ Compensation, our attorneys may be able to help set your mind at ease and get you the funding you need.
What California Law Says About Retaliation and Workers’ Compensation
Under California state law, your employer cannot fire you - or even threaten to fire you - because you filed a Workers’ Compensation claim or plan to do so. If you make your intention to file a claim known and are threatened with the possibility of losing your job, your employer is breaking the law and could actually be guilty of a criminal misdemeanor. The same is true if your employer actually goes through with firing you.
What to Do If Your Workers' Compensation Claim Is Denied
As if getting hurt at work is not bad enough, finding out that your rightful claim for Workers’ Compensation has been denied can make your life that much harder. Claims can be denied for any number of reasons, reasonable or otherwise. It could be that you are having a hard time proving that a repetitive stress injury was caused by your work, or that someone is under the false impression that you are exaggerating the extent of your injury.
Whatever reason you were given for having your claim denied, there may be steps an attorney can take to appeal the board’s decision and hopefully get you the compensation you need to get better. Cramer + Martinez knows how a denied claim can affect the financial health of your whole family, and we will fight to make it right.
Appealing a Denied Workers’ Compensation Claim in California
If your initial claim was denied, do not panic. You have the right to appeal the decision, and it is best that you do so with assistance from a trained attorney. The first order of business will be to figure out why your claim was denied. Reasons your claim might have been denied include:
Workers' Compensation and the Loss of a Limb in California
Losing a limb is among the most dreaded types of permanently disabling injuries that one can suffer in the workplace. When you have lost an arm or a leg, or even a finger, it can take a long time for you to get back to a point where you can perform your normal activities of daily living. You will likely need extensive physical therapy, with or without a prosthesis, before you can do things like dressing yourself or cleaning your home. Having a limb severed also tends to come with a lot of pain - the pain alone associated with this injury can keep you from returning to work. While you may eventually be able to adjust to a new way of doing things, you may never be able to return to the type of work you were doing before the injury. Because this is such a major type of Workers’ Compensation claim, it is best to have an attorney handle your case.
3 Reasons to Report Every Workplace Injury
Brushing off a "minor" injury in the workplace can come back to bite you. Some injuries or accidents may seem like no big deal in the moment, only to become a very big deal later on. If you report the injury right away and have the accident thoroughly documented, then you will have solid evidence that you got hurt at work should you need to pursue a Workers’ Compensation claim later on. However, if you fail to report what happened, it might be more difficult to establish that your injury is a workplace injury.
There are a number of reasons that people do not report workplace accidents, ranging from embarrassment to a belief that the injury will quickly heal on its own. Reporting the injury anyway can preserve your claim just in case.
Why You Should Report Every Injury, Every Time
"Minor" injuries can turn out to be a much bigger deal than you may have anticipated. Reasons that you should always report every workplace accident or injury include:
What If a Workplace Injury Leaves Me Disabled?
Some workplace injuries are much more serious than others. After a simple injury like a sprained ankle, you may need a few weeks off to recover before returning to work. In that case, your claim would be fairly straightforward - you recover lost wages and medical expenses, and you are back at work like nothing happened. However, some workplace injuries can be much more serious. A serious accident that causes a spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury can leave you permanently unable to return to work. You may have to change career paths, which often involves taking a serious pay cut. Or, you may never be able to work again in any capacity. In these instances, you may be eligible for permanent disability benefits. If you are in this type of situation, it is crucial that you reach out to an attorney for help applying for Workers’ Compensation.