Maison Law of Turlock stands ready to help anyone hurt while on the job. We can help injured employees across Stanislaus County earn the most possible through Workers’ Compensation. Not every victim is treated fairly, and not everyone receives the same amount of Worker’s Comp support. We want to make sure every victim has the money to pay every medical bill and support their families.
Contact us today for a free consultation to learn more about your options that may go beyond standard workers’ comp benefits.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Suffering an Injury in the Workplace?
If you receive only a minor injury and only miss a few days of work, you may not require the help of a lawyer to get fair treatment through workers’ compensation. However, a workplace accident that results in a more serious injury and extended medical bills may force you to fight to get all recovery costs reimbursed. A skilled Turlock Workers’ Compensation Lawyer can often help you secure more for complex cases, especially those involving higher healthcare expenses.
The guidebook provided by The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) explains that you should consider hiring a lawyer in these and other situations:
- You believe your employer or the claims administrator is treating you unfairly or withholding benefits; or
- You have a permanent impairment/disability that limits you or causes pain; or
- You’re not sure how to proceed with your case, and no one else will help.
You should contact a lawyer if you feel you might have to file a lawsuit against your company in order to hold them accountable for what workers’ compensation won’t cover.
You should consult with an attorney if you feel that by handling your case yourself, you won’t secure enough compensation to cover all of your recovery expenses.
Maison Law fights to get 100% of medical expenses, lost wages, and rehab covered if you’re hurt at work.
The Types of Workers’ Comp Cases We Help Turlock Workers Win
Turlock workers can be injured in a scary accident at work and be left to stress over how much help they’ll receive while in recovery. They’ll have medical bills piling up without any dependable income to pay them with. They’ll also probably miss days, weeks, or months of work and paychecks, and have no way to pay their normal monthly bills like the rent and car payments.
Employers like corporations and agricultural companies can fail to keep factories, farms, and orchards as safe as they can be. Owners can turn their backs on employees and even try to fire them after they get injured in a hazardous workplace.
Workers’ Compensation administrators might also provide too little support when they only hear the employer’s side of what happened.
Maison Law attorneys take aggressive action when these obstacles arise for injured workers. These are just some of the local occupations and job risks that we can help injured employees earn maximum compensation for:
- Support for injured construction workers
- Support for injured farmworkers, orchard laborers, and ranch workers
- Support for employees in the hotel, resort, and tourism industries
- Support for injured retail workers
- Support for injured office workers
- Support for workers in manufacturing, processing, and packing plants
- Support for injured city, county, or state government employees
- Support for workers hurt by collapsing shelves and overhead hazards
- Support for workers injured in and around work vehicles like trucks, forklifts, and order pickers
- Support for those workers hurt by dangerous machinery
- Support for workers injured by dangerous and defective tools
- Support for those receiving burns and electrical shock
- Support for those developing illness and injuries due to exposure to hazardous substances
- Support for victims harmed by ventilation issues
- Support for the victims of slip-and-falls on puddles or trip-and-falls on debris left in workplace
- Support for victims hurt by unmaintained stairwells
- Support for workers hurt in falls from great heights from platforms and other dangerous spots
- Support for workers injured due to exposure to elements
- Support for workers asked to lift or carry too much weight and then developing back and neck strain
- Support for employees who develop repetitive motion injuries
Visit our website to find Workers’ Comp information for employees in specific industries.
Can a Lawyer Help Me with the QME process?
At some point in the Workers’ Compensation process, victims may have to be evaluated by a Qualified Medical Examiner (QME). A QME is selected by the Employer’s Workers’ Comp insurance provider. It’s a process that allows the insurer to determine how severe your injuries are, but it can also be a very unfair process.
When you have an attorney, you don’t have to see a QME. Your attorney and the insurers both have a say in selecting an evaluator known as an Agreed Medical Evaluator (AME). A medical evaluator that you and your lawyer have some say on can make a big difference in your case. An attorney helps you prepare for the types of questions you’ll receive and makes sure you receive an honest appraisal. Your lawyer can also help you contest any findings.
Winning Compensation for Injured Workplace Accident Victims
Your attorney makes sure Workers’ Comp administrators know that you’ll need support for your current financial burdens and those that might result from continued injury complications in the future.
The DIR Injured Worker’s Handbook goes over all the different types of support available through a claim. This is a look at some of the support victims and their families could receive:
- Support for all Medical Care and Rehabilitation Costs
- Temporary Disability Benefits While You Can’t Work
- Permanent Disability Benefits
- Supplemental Job Displacement Benefits Including Help in Finding Another Profession
- Death Benefits for Families who Lose a Loved One to a Workplace Accident
Your Maison Law attorney can also go over the evidence and help you decide if your employer should be providing additional support. Normally, workers can only seek help through workers’ compensation, but if an employer is guilty of gross negligence, suing your employer and earning even more in support may be possible.
Filing a lawsuit and taking your employer to court is an option in some cases. Gross negligence means the accident was caused by an employer’s reckless disregard for an employee’s safety. The employer’s behavior was so reckless the accident was almost intentional. This might be the case if an employer knowingly put you in a life-threatening situation or tried to cover up a failure in safety protocol.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a lawyer for California Workers’ Compensation if I’m not a U.S. citizen?
Yes, in some cases. Workers are eligible for support under the California Workers’ Compensation system regardless of their immigration status or undocumented worker status. Maison Law can help many victims secure more support for their families.
When should I report my injury at work?
Immediately. Alert your supervisor as soon as you are injured. If you wait longer than 30 days to inform your employer of an injury, you may lose your chance to file a claim. You can find more information on how to proceed on the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) website.
How long can I wait to file a California Workers’ Compensation injury claim?
As seen above, injured workers should report their injuries to their employers as soon as possible. Then they usually have up to one year from the date of the accident to file a claim with California’s Division of Workers’ Compensation. In some cases, the one-year deadline counts down from the day the worker learns of an injury or illness. The deadline could be extended if the victim is under the age of 18.
What if I can’t afford to pay a Turlock workers’ compensation lawyer?
You can always afford the help of a skilled Maison Law attorney to help you file the strongest claim possible. We work on a contingency fee basis. It means we cover all upfront costs and you owe us nothing unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the workers’ compensation check you receive.
Contact a Turlock Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
The most important outcome is that you earn the most support possible through Workers’ Compensation. A Turlock Worker’s Compensation Attorney provides the best chance to do that. Stanislaus County workers who are injured and who lose their ability to support their families must get every benefit possible now and in the future. Maison Law can help untangle the options and get injured workers on track to rebuild their lives and their careers.
There’s an easy way to find out which path offers you the fastest route to the support you and your family desperately need. Speak to Maison Law in a free, no-obligation consultation. We want to hear about what happened to you and then help you determine the best course of action for your family.
