Workers' Compensation

Workers’ compensation

Denied catastrophe injury case with favorable decision for injured worker from the California Supreme Court. Pending 6-figure settlement.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance benefits

  • Medical care will be paid for by the workers’ compensation insurance company generally to help you recover from your injury or illnesses caused by work. 
  • Temporary disability benefits payments will be paid if you are unable to work for a time period not to exceed 104 weeks.
  • Permanent disability benefits payments will be based on the extent of your injuries.
  • Suplemental job displacement benefits voucher will generally be provided if you are unable to return back to work with your employer.
  • Death benefits will be paid for a fatality incurring as a result of a work-related injury or illness.

What to do after workplace injury or illness

  • Immediately report your injury or illness to your employer.
  • Demand immediate referral to employer doctor or industrial clinic. Later you will be able to request a change of doctor.
  • Keep all records of all communications with your employer regarding your injury or illness.
  • Call us if you have any questions. Here at Carrazco Law, we know what to do to help you.

Your WC claim begins…

  • The date you were injured and the employer had knowledge of the injury.
  • The date you were injured and obtained medical treatment for your injury or illness.

Deadlines to look out for…

  • You must inform your employer of the injury or illness within 30 days; and
  • The statute of Limitations for filling a workers’ compensation claim is one (1) year from the date of your job-related injury or illness. There could be exceptions. If questions, contact Carrazco Law for a free consultation.
  • If an injured worker has been receiving medical treatment or benefits for an injury at work, he/she may file a claim with five (5) years after the date of injury if the original injury caused new and further disability.
Areas of Practice
  • Civil Rights

  • Personal Injury

  • Workers' Compensation

100+ Years of combined Civil Rights and Workers’ Compensation legal experience

FAQs

Report the injury to your employer by telling your supervisor right away. If your injury or illness developed over time, report it as soon as you learn or believe it was caused by your job.

Reporting promptly helps prevent problems and delays in receiving benefits, including medical care you may need. If your employer does not learn about your injury within 30 days and this prevents your employer from fully investigating the injury and how you were injured, you could lose your right to receive workers’ compensation benefits.

Get emergency treatment if you need it. Your employer may tell you where to go for treatment. Tell the health care provider who treats you that your injury or illness is job-related.

Fill out a claim form and give it to your employer. Your employer must give or mail you a claim form within one working day after learning about your injury or illness. If your employer doesn’t give you the claim form you can download it from the forms page of the DWC website.

medical provider network (MPN) is a group of health care providers set up by your employer’s insurance company and approved by DWC’s administrative director to treat workers injured on the job. Each MPN includes a mix of doctors specializing in work-related injuries and doctors with expertise in general areas of medicine. If your employer is in an MPN your workers’ compensation medical needs will be taken care of by doctors in the network unless you were eligible to predesignate your personal doctor and did so before your injury happened.

If you have a work-related injury or illness, your employer is required by law to pay for workers’ compensation benefits. You could get hurt by:

One event at work, such as hurting your back in a fall, getting burned by a chemical that splashes on your skin or getting hurt in a car accident while making deliveries.

–or–

Repeated exposures at work, such as hurting your wrist from doing the same motion over and over or losing your hearing because of constant loud noise.

Your primary treating physician (PTP) is the physician with the overall responsibility for treatment of your injury or illness. Generally, your employer selects the PTP you will see for the first 30 days, however, in specified conditions, you may be treated by your predesignated physician or medical group. If a physician says you still need treatment after 30 days, you may be able to switch to the physician of your choice. Different rules apply if your employer is using an HCO or a medical provider network (MPN).

Your local I&A officers are a great resource and their services are free. They are not there to act on your behalf as an attorney would, but they’ll help you understand how to act on your own behalf. Attend a free seminar for injured workers at a local DWC district office for a full explanation of workers’ comp benefits, your rights and responsibilities. You can also make an appointment with an I&A officer and speak to them privately at your convenience.

In addition, there is a lot of information on the I&A page of the DWC’s website. Check out the fact sheets and guides for injured workers. The fact sheets provide answers to frequently asked questions about issues affecting your benefits. The guides will help you fill out forms you may need to get a problem with your claim resolved at the local DWC district office.

Yes. Giving the completed form to your employer opens your workers’ compensation case. It starts the process for finding all benefits you may qualify for under state law. Those benefits include, but are not limited to:

  • A presumption that your injury or illness was caused by work if your claim is not accepted or denied within 90 days of giving the completed claim form to your employer
  • Up to $10,000 in treatment under medical treatment guidelines while the claims administrator considers your claim
  • An increase in your disability payments if they’re late
  • A way to resolve any disagreements between you and the claims administrator over whether your injury or illness happened on the job, the medical treatment you receive and whether you will receive permanent disability benefits.

Temporary disability (TD) benefits are payments you get if you lose wages because your injury prevents you from doing your usual job while recovering. See the DWC fact sheet on TD for more information.

Case Studies

MARIO H vs. MYSTIC GARDENS 

GARDENER FELL INTO EMPTY SWIMMING POOL WHILE TRIMMING TREE. 

SETTLEMENT:  $1,000,000.00.

 

CARLOS M vs.COMM-FAB, INC.

INJURED WORKER SUSTAINED SEVERE INJURY TO FINGERS.

SETTLEMENT:  $500,000.00.

 

ABDEL H vs. VALUE CARS

DENIED CASE. CATASTROPHIC INTERNAL AND SPINAL INJURIES. THIS CASE WAS LITIGATED ALL THE WAY UP TO THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT. WE WON! 100% PERMANENT DISABILITY AND LIFE-TIME MEDICAL. 

SETTLEMENT:  PENDING SEVEN-FIGURE (TO BE REVISED SOON). 

 

JARED O vs. KOETSIER DAIRY

DRIVER WHILE IN COURSE AND SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT STRUCK BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. OUR FIRM HANDLED BOTH THE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION AND PERSONAL INJURY CASES. 

SETTLEMENT:  $1,200,000.00.

 

NESTOR E vs. PACIFIC PARADISE NURSERY, INC.

LITIGATED DENIED CASE. WON! AT FAULT LANDSCAPE LABORER INJURED IN CAR ACCIDENT. 

SETTLEMENT: $3,150,000.00

 

FAUSTINO B vs. MIKE ETCHANDY FARMS, INC.

DENIED CASE. WON! FARM WORKER INVOLVED IN CAR ACCIDENT WHILE ON HIS WAY TO WORK.

SETTLEMENT: $650,000.00

 

SILVESTRE D vs. TG ROOFING AND ROOF REMOVAL

ROOFER INJURED BACK 

SETTLEMENT: $430,000.00

 

VICENTE L vs. NEW CENTURY INDUSTRIES, INC. 

HEAVY STEEL ROLL FELL ON INJURED WORKER’S LEG. WORKERS’ COMPENSATION AND THIRD-PARTY CASE. 

$1,650,000.00 FOR CIVIL CASE AND $350,000.00, NEW MONEY, FOR WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CASE. $2,000,000.00 COMBINED SETTLEMENT.

 

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