Maison Law of Turlock offers strong legal representation to workers who have been hurt in accidents involving forklifts on the job. Injured workers who suddenly can’t go to work to earn a paycheck are often left to face stacks of medical bills.
Workers’ Compensation can help, but victims often get shortchanged and lose support before they are fully healed. A skilled attorney can help.
Go over your case in a free consultation with a Turlock Workers’ Compensation Lawyer to find out what’s possible.
When You Should Have a Lawyer for Your Forklift Accident Claim
As a worker in California, you always have the right to file your own Workers’ Comp claim. And if your injury caused by a forklift is relatively minor, and you only have to miss a few days at work, you could probably handle your case yourself just fine.
But if your injuries are more serious, your bills will skyrocket, and the importance of having legal protection grows. You’ll want an attorney arguing your case so your employers’ Workers’ Comp insurance provider can’t find ways to reject your claim or reduce the support you receive.
A lawyer can often help you earn much more in benefits with these and other injuries caused by a malfunctioning machine:
- Broken bones
- Burns on superheated metal forklift parts
- Electrical shocks
- Crush injuries suffered around the lift
- Cuts and puncture wounds
- A Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) after a blow to the head
With these and other injuries, Workers’ Comp needs to see the evidence of what you’ve been through and be able to make a fair decision in your case. A lawyer can assist you in presenting the evidence and medical documentation necessary to earn the maximum in support.
Other Reasons to Consider Hiring a Lawyer
The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) provides a handy guidebook for injured workers. It lists some of the other circumstances that you might benefit from having legal representation:
- If you’ve already filed a claim and your case isn’t being treated seriously
- You can already tell that you won’t receive enough to support your family and pay all of your bills
- You aren’t sure how to proceed with a Workers’ Comp claim, and no one (including your employer) will help.
- You will need the help of a skilled lawyer to collect hard-to-secure evidence to support your account of how you were injured on a forklift
- If your employer threatens to fire you or report you to immigration authorities if you file a claim over an injury
You might also want to contact a lawyer if your employer suddenly assigns teams of company attorneys to your case.
Schedule a Free Workplace Accident Case Consultation
Taking on a Worker’s Comp insurance provider can be intimidating, especially when you are feeling vulnerable and still dealing with the consequences of a forklift injury.
It’s best to put your fears to rest by talking to Maison Law in a free, no-obligation case consultation. It’s a free service provided to all workers in Turlock and Stanislaus County.
We can go over your options and help you decide the best path for you to secure compensation as soon as possible. If you turn your case over to us, you can focus on getting better and let us deal with frustrating Workers’ Comp administrators.
Calculating the Support You Should Receive from California Workers’ Comp
How badly you are hurt, and how long it takes you to heal, will largely determine what you receive in your every-other-week Workers’ Comp checks. The length of recovery will affect how long you continue to receive medical bills, and how long you won’t be able to work.
Once an experienced Turlock Workers’ Comp attorney hears about your injury and is able to investigate your incident, they’ll be able to give you a much better idea of what you might earn.
Workers’ Comp usually provides these benefits and more:
- Support to pay all medical bills and physical therapy costs
- Restoration of a percentage of the paychecks victims have had to forfeit
- A lifetime of support for victims who develop a permanent physical disability
- Money to go towards education and training for a new career if victims can’t return to their former job
- Death benefits are available to close relatives after losing a loved one to a workplace accident
An attorney on your side can also demand reimbursement for any treatment you’ve received to manage the pain that comes with a serious injury. The money you’ve had to spend on mental healthcare should also be reimbursed. An injury and the things you’ve had to give up while you heal can cause you to suffer from depression and anxiety.
PTSD symptoms flashing you back to the moment of your accident with a forklift can also cause you distress. Any money you spend on therapy and psychological care must be covered.
The DIR Injured Worker’s Handbook goes over all the different types of support available through a claim.
Forklift Dangers in Turlock
Forklifts provide a much-needed boost in power and speed in local warehouses, barns, factories, and even retail stores each day. But they are also dangerous machines with fast-moving parts that can cause devastating harm to defenseless workers.
The National Safety Council (NSC) reports that in 2024, there were 84 work-related deaths involving forklifts, orderpickers, and powered platform trucks in the U.S (all in the forklift category). There were also 15,460 forklift accidents that led to time away from work across 2023 and 2024.
These are just a few of the dangers that Forklift operators and workers around forklifts are exposed to:
- Overturning forklifts, unbalanced loads
- Overloaded forklifts
- Busted pallets
- Drivers getting distracted
- Drivers going too fast
- Stressed or exhausted drivers
- Improperly trained and certified drivers
- Improper maintenance of the forklift
- A forklift manufacturing flaw
Generally, Workers’ Comp is a no-fault benefit; injured workers receive benefits regardless of whether they were hurt due to operator error or a lack of safety precautions taken by the employer.
But administrators and your employer’s Workers’ Comp insurance provider still need to hear what you endured in the accident and in a long, difficult recovery. It’s how they decide the amount on your benefit checks and how long those checks will keep coming.
A Turklock Forklift Compensation Lawyer helps you communicate your story and make clear what you’ve been put through. It’s the only way to get the maximum support available for as long as you’ll need it to heal and support your family.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to report my forklift injury?
You must inform your employer of an accident within 30 days. You must file a claim with California’s Division of Workers’ Compensation within a year. In some cases, the countdowns to the deadlines don’t begin on the day of the accident, but on the day the victim becomes aware of the injury.
Could I win Workers’ Compensation benefits if I’m not a U.S. citizen?
You don’t have to be a citizen to earn Workers’ Comp benefits. Workers receive benefits regardless of their immigration status or undocumented worker status. Maison Law can help many victims secure more support for their families.
What can I do if my employer threatens me after an accident?
Employers may threaten to fire you or report you to immigration authorities if you file a Workers’ Comp claim. They may demote you. Retaliation over a Workers’ Comp claim is illegal. The employer can be fined, face criminal charges, and have to pay restitution to the victim. Maison Law would take legal action if a business owner or company resorted to threats or took retaliatory actions.
Contact a Turlock Workers’ Compensation Attorney
Reach out to Maison Law to set up a free, no-obligation consultation if you’ve been seriously hurt in a forklift accident and will miss time at work.
Martin Gasparian, the founder of Maison Law, wants to hear about what happened to you and then help you determine the best course of action for your family. Mr. Gasparian continues to fight for the well-being of Stanislaus County workers and injury victims.
We also understand that families who have medical bills to pay and are dealing with lost paychecks may not have the money to hire a lawyer. That’s okay. Maison Law doesn’t ask for any payment up front. We only get paid if we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the benefits insurance companies are forced to provide.
