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California’s Labor Code is designed to protect the rights of workers in our state. This is particularly evident in California’s approach to workers’ compensation. Under California law, the vast majority of employers must purchase workers’ compensation insurance. This is so their employees can file claims seeking compensation for such losses as medical bills when they are injured in work-related accidents or develop health conditions as a result of exposure to hazards in the workplace.
Unfortunately, if you ever need to file a workers’ compensation claim, you may quickly learn that filing a claim for benefits does not guarantee a quick payout. Your employer may try to deny your claim because they don’t want their insurance premiums to rise. Or, to avoid financial losses, an insurance company might deny your claim by arguing that you were not operating as an employee when you were injured, and are thus not eligible to recover benefits. At the very least, an insurer might try to convince you to settle for more than your claim is worth.
Protect yourself in these circumstances by hiring a legal professional to represent you. At Allegiance Law, a Burlingame workers’ compensation attorney is prepared to negotiate for a fair settlement on your behalf. We can also help you demonstrate why you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits if an employer or insurance carrier has denied your claim.
California’s workers’ compensation laws use the no-fault system. This means that when an employee is injured in an on-the-job accident, they do not need to prove their accident resulted from someone else’s negligence to recover benefits. This is one of many factors that distinguish workers’ compensation cases from general personal injury cases.
However, for an employee to recover benefits, they must have been “on the clock” or engaged in a work-related task when they were harmed. For example, an employee typically isn’t eligible to recover workers’ compensation benefits if they were harmed in a car accident that occurred while they were driving during their lunch break. Because they were not working for their employer at the time of the accident, they must seek compensation through other means, such as filing a claim to collect from the insurance of the negligent party who caused their accident.
An insurance carrier may attempt to deny you benefits by suggesting you haven’t provided evidence indicating your accident was truly work-related. Our Burlingame workers’ compensation attorneys can help you defend against these tactics by investigating your accident thoroughly. We will collect the evidence you need to prove you were working when you were injured.
Again, we can also negotiate for a proper settlement. If an insurance carrier’s initial settlement offers are unreasonably low, we will reject them, improving your chances of securing the full amount of compensation you deserve.
Our Burlingame workers’ compensation attorneys at Allegiance Law are dedicated to providing injured and sick workers with the effective representation they deserve when insurance companies and unscrupulous employers try to take advantage of them. Learn more about what we can do for you by contacting us online or calling us at 415-404-6395 to schedule a consultation.