Official Workers’ Compensation FAQ
If you have been injured and are seeking workers’ compensation or in the middle of a claim, you may have some questions. Now we have answered some of these questions and offer our experience to you to settle your claim. What is a stipulated finding and award? A stipulated finding and award is entered in upon by both sides rather than being imposed by the judge in the judge’s decision. However, the judge must still “approve” of the finding and then it has the same effect as any other trial would when an “award” is reached. In most cases, the biggest circumstance under review in a finding and award deals primarily with the percentage of disability that a plaintiff wants and whether or not they will need further medical care. Due to the stipulated finding and award, the percentage of disability agreed to as well as the number of weeks to be paid are agreed upon. If you find out that you are, in fact, entitled to medical care in the future, you will have to call the insurance company before you receive it. What is a compromise and release? This is a closing of the entire case and the elimination of the need for payments over a period of time. You may consider a compromise and release if you have a right to medical care but choose to pay for it yourself. If you decide to close on this option, then you will typically be compensated for taking care of matters on your own and relieving the insurance company from having to take care of your medical care themselves. The amount of compromise and release is usually more than the amount of disability that you would have received over time. However, what you should remember is that a compromise and release is not always a viable choice. Sometimes, the insurance company will not want to choose this option and you will be left with no choice. Will my settlement affect vocational rehabilitation? No, receiving compensation benefits should not be affected by participating in a vocational rehabilitation program. You may have questions about what vocational rehabilitation entails. Workers are entitled to this type of rehabilitation when they have been injured in the workplace. Some of the benefits include on-the-job training where necessary, transferable skills testing, resume and job application services, interview skills assistance, labor market surveys, job search assistance, counseling, and reasonable accommodation. Depending on your situation, you will find out how much vocational rehabilitation is available to you. Can I get all the money from workers’ compensation and keep the medical open? Theoretically, in some cases you will be able to settle a workers’ compensation case and keep medical open. However, in most cases this is not possible because many claims adjusters will not deal with the risks involved. This is why, if you wish to keep the money from your workers’ comp and keep medical open, you will have to go to trial to make your demands. However, you will be putting trust in the judge’s hands and may not end up with the result you were expecting. What happens if my case is settled? You may have concerns about going in front of the judge for many reasons, or getting “cheated” in your case. You may decide to settle when you weigh your options and decide that the amount of money you would receive is enough to take care of the costs of your accident. You may decide it is not worth losing any more than that. An attorney will be able to help you come to that conclusion and weigh the risks and options. What happens if the insurance company won’t make a reasonable offer? In some cases, you may realistically have to settle because you will not be entitled to more than they have already offered you based on your injuries. However, you can keep attempting to get a better offer through mediation or court if you feel it is in your best interest. If you have been injured in the workplace, you may wonder where to turn. It may seem like you have exhausted all options, but you still have us on your side, fighting for your rights every step of the way. Call us at The RAWA Law Group today for more information on your case.
When Can I Sue Outside of Workers’ Compensation?
What happens if you were injured by a defective product on-the-job and want to bring a lawsuit against a manufacturer? What if you were injured by a toxic substance, because of employer’s gross negligence, or if your boss doesn’t carry workers’ compensation insurance? These are all questions you may have when you have received a workplace injury or illness. If this is the case, you may not have to rely on workers’ compensation to pay for your medical bills and more. Instead, you may be able to outright sue for damages caused by your injuries. The truth is, workers’ compensation can’t do everything. It won’t pay for things like pain and suffering or provide punitive damages to punish an employer when they haven’t been following safety standards. This is why it may be in your best interest to consider a lawsuit. How to Bring a Lawsuit in Specific Areas So, have you been injured or fallen ill due to one of the previously mentioned reasons and wonder what you can do about it? Now you can find out how to handle a case. Defective Products: What happens if you were injured because a piece of equipment is inherently dangerous and didn’t work properly? Then the manufacturer of the machine or equipment can be held liable, but only through a lawsuit. In this case, you would be compensated for medical bills, lost wages, and maybe even pain and suffering. You may be able to file a claim if your employer forced you to use the equipment even if they knew that it was dangerous. Toxic Substances: You may also work around toxic substances that can cause severe illness and injuries. Some of the most common substances include asbestos, benzene, chromium compounds, silica, and radium. If the substance can harm you, then it may fall under a “toxic tort” lawsuit. Workers have been successful over the years in these cases because they could receive very serious illness such as cancer and lung disease from being around the substances. You should speak to an attorney as soon as possible because, the longer you wait, the more complicated the issues could become. Employer’s Conduct: In some cases, an employer may have even hurt you on purpose. This means that you will be able to sue your employer for damages if you can prove your case. Let’s say that an employer bumps you out of the way on purpose and you fall, injuring yourself on a piece of equipment and receiving permanent injuries. You would be able to sue the employer out of the workers’ compensation system because the conduct was intentional. No Workers’ Compensation Insurance: What happens if your employer doesn’t carry workers’ compensation? You may be able to sue in court for your injuries. You may be able to score more money than the workers’ compensation system would allow; however, you will have to prove that the employer was at fault for your injury, which makes the case a bit more difficult. Third Party: Perhaps the injury was not due to a product or behavior of the employer. In this case, you will be able to sue another person for damages. If a third party intentionally caused you to become harmed, you should speak with an attorney. We are there for you in your time of need. We understand how tedious it can be to file a lawsuit and appear in court for your injuries, so we are here to help you through the complex matters. Call us today at The RAWA Law Group so we can get started on handling your case.
Irvine Business Owner Charged with $2 Million in Workers’ Compensation Payroll Fraud
According to Insurance Journal, Investigation Solutions, Inc. reported the fraud in 2011 and helped in the investigation. Ronald Scott Dee, owner of Venetian Stoneworks, and Pamela Palmer Quast, the company’s bookkeeper, were charged with 6 felony counts of misrepresenting facts to their workers’ comp insurer as well as 28 felony counts of failing to file a tax return, 28 felony counts of failure to pay taxes, and 24 felony counts of failure to pay insurance deductions. The fraud came to light when Dee called his insurance company’s claims administrator claiming concern about insurance fraud by an employee who was hurt on the job. “As the claims adjuster spoke with the injured worker, she learned that his finger was amputated by an old table saw used without proper guards, in violation of OSHA standards,” Insurance Journal reported. “The injured claimant mentioned three earlier employee injuries on the same table saw which were never reported. Further, the injured employee mentioned receiving paychecks from two companies owned by Dee, but only worked for one. The second company, The Plumbing Studio in Santa Ana, uses undocumented workers who are all related to each other, he said.” The investigation eventually found the company did not have workers’ compensation insurance for three years and reported it had no employees during that time. Evidence also suggested that Venetian Stoneworks underreported payroll, misclassified its employees, and failed to report injury claims. Workers compensation insurance fraud may be committed by employees as well as employers. Workers’ compensation insurance premium fraud occurs when an employer underreports payroll, misclassifies employees, or when a company closes and attempts to open as a new company on paper for lower premiums. The owner of Venetian Stoneworks has been accused of failing to report their full staff to their insurance provider and misclassifying employees (such as classifying a high-risk construction worker as a worker with clerical duties) to pay lower premiums. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), workers’ compensation fraud costs California between $1 billion and $3 billion per year. Along with increasing costs for employers, fraud means additional scrutiny for employees who file a claim for a work-related injury. Unfortunately, the focus on fraud has also led to a myth that most workers’ compensation claims are false, despite studies showing just 1-2% of employee claims are fraudulent. If you were hurt in a work-related injury and your claim has been denied, it may be that the insurance company suspects fraud due to circumstances out of your control, such as a lack of witnesses to your injury. A workers’ compensation attorney can help you protect your rights and appeal your claim to seek the benefits you deserve for your injury. For the best workers Compensation attorney for Riverside Ca, you need to contact Rawa Law Offices today. Click here for more information.
How Do I Know Whether or Not I Get Covered by Workers’ Compensation?
Know if you are eligible for collecting workers compensation. You can learn more in this article.