In California, if you are hurt on the job, you are covered by workers’ comp. Your employer is required by California law to have workers’ compensation insurance to pay for your medical care, lost income, and other costs linked to a work-related injury.
You have the right to expect a speedy decision regarding your workers’ compensation claim so that you can begin obtaining medical care without risking your finances because of your expenditures. You have the right to expect a speedy decision regarding your workers’ compensation claim so that you can begin obtaining medical care without risking your finances because of your expenses.
If your workers’ compensation claim is delayed or refused, you need a skilled, committed, and aggressive workers’ compensation attorney on your side to get you the full amount of pay you are due and to expedite the initiation of your coverage.
Why Do Most Claims Get Delayed?
- The doctor was wrong about what was wrong.
- The damage was caused by an injury or condition that was already there.
- The accident happened somewhere other than at work.
- There isn’t enough proof that an accident or illness is caused by working conditions caused.
- A doctor said the accident wasn’t bad enough to keep the person from working.
- The worker waited too long to tell anyone about the accident or file a claim.
- The worker waited too long to get the right medical care.
How Long Will It Take To Get My Claim?
California law states that employers and their insurance providers have to decide on a workers’ compensation claim within a particular period of time after the claim is made and filed. Most of the time, workers have 30 days from the time they get hurt or find out they are sick to tell their boss about it. The employer must then give the worker a workers’ compensation claim form. Once the worker sends the form back to the boss, the employer’s insurance company has 90 days to decide if they will pay the claim or not.
During this period, the employer has to give permission for all medical care for the injury up to a maximum of $10,000. If the employer does not deny a claim within 90 days, the claim is assumed to be accepted and the benefits need to be paid.
Employers who unnecessarily postpone or decline to pay a claim are subject to a penalty of 25% of the amount of the delayed claim or $10,000, whichever is less, under California’s Labor Code. Also, regardless of whether the delay was reasonable or not, the amount of any disability payment that is more than 30 days late will be increased by 10%.
What Can We Do to Assist You?
If you’ve been hurt on the job in California and need assistance obtaining benefits from workers’ compensation as quickly and completely as possible, call the 2H Law Firm at (619) 374-9320 to speak with a workers’ compensation delay of claims attorney who is skilled, educated, and effective.
