Escondido Workers’ Compensation Attorney

If you’ve been injured, disabled, or sickened, or disabled on the job in California, you’re entitled to claim Workers’ Compensation benefits. Your benefits will usually include the cost of medical care along with disability compensation for lost wages, reimbursement for necessary travel, and vocational rehabilitation. Survivors of a person killed in a work-related accident are able to submit a claim for a Workers’ Compensation death benefit.

Obtaining the benefits you’re entitled to may not be easy. Insurance companies often delay and deny Workers’ Comp claims, so it’s important to retain an experienced Workers’ Compensation lawyer to assist you in the pursuit of your claim. The attorneys at the Liljegren Law Group in Escondido, California, can facilitate and speed the processing of your claim to ensure that your benefits are paid in a timely manner and that you receive the full amount you’re entitled to.

Maximize Your Comp Benefits | Contact a Workers Compensation Attorney

The Liljegren workers compensation lawyers will advise you on how to make Workers’ Compensation work for you, relieving the stress, frustration, and uncertainty that often come with the claims process. In addition to facilitating your Comp claim, we will investigate to determine if any party other than your employer might be liable for your accident or disability, in which case we will seek a recovery for pain and suffering and other non-economic losses, which are not possible in a regular Workers’ Compensation claim.

Call the Liljegren Law Group early in the process for the assistance you need to facilitate your claim.  (760) 294-1515 or fill out a contact form and tell us more about your case.

What Does Workers’ Compensation Cover?

Medical Expenses

Workers’ Compensation should pick up the entire cost of your medical care for treatment of your occupational illness or work-related injury. This includes doctors’ bills, lab work, medical equipment, and prescriptions deemed medically necessary.

If your doctor orders hospitalization or surgery, you’ll have to get prior approval from your employer’s insurance carrier. The adjuster will only approve treatments of a list of “generally acceptable medical practices.” If your doctor orders a treatment considered innovative, investigative, or experimental, it will probably be denied. You’ll need to turn to your lawyer for help in getting it covered. Insurance adjusters are not doctors; they aren’t qualified to make medical decisions.

Your Liljegren Group Workers’ Compensation attorney will fight with the insurance company on your behalf to ensure that you are able to receive the most appropriate and medically current treatment that your condition requires.

If you need to see a medical specialist more than 50 miles from your home, you’re entitled to reimbursement for your travel expenses. If an overnight stay is required, that should also be reimbursed.

Disability Pay

If you’re out of work for eight calendar days or more because of your injury or illness, you should receive a tax-free lost wages benefit—usually two-thirds of your regular weekly pay—until your doctor indicates that you’re well enough to go back to work.

Four categories of disability include:

• Permanent partial disability
• Permanent total disability
• Temporary partial disability
• Temporary total disability

If you’re permanently disabled but capable of doing some type of work, your insurance company will order an evaluation by a doctor qualified to determine your percentage of impairment, which will determine the amount of your PPD, or permanent partial disability award.

Rehabilitation Benefit

If you need physical therapy, occupational therapy, or vocational rehabilitation to retrain you for another type of job that you can handle with your impairment, those costs should be covered. You’ll work with a vocational rehabilitation counselor to determine what kind of occupation you could perform, ideally taking into consideration your aptitudes, skills, and preferences. However, the counselor is an employee of the insurance carrier, whose first priority is spending the very least amount possible to rehabilitate you. If you’re being pushed into training for a job you feel is inappropriate, your lawyer can often negotiate to get you onto a more suitable new career path, one that suits your preferences.

Death Benefit

When a worker dies from a workplace-related illness or injury, the employee’s immediate family members—the spouse and any minor children—are entitled to a Workers’ Compensation death benefit. based on the deceased’s wages, along with funeral expenses.

Have more questions regarding your work injury? Contact our experienced Escondido personal injury attorney today for a free case evaluation. Give us a call at (760) 294-1515 or fill out an online contact form.