What is Workers’ Compensation?

Workers' compensation law provides medical treatment and wage replacement benefits to workers injured on the job.  The State of California has set up this administrative system to allow injured workers, their employers, and their employers’ insurance companies to process these claims without expensive and time-consuming civil litigation.  So, claims for workplace injuries can only be brought through the workers’ compensation system and cannot be filed in civil court as a tort.  The trade-off here is that injured workers can only claim those benefits allowed within the workers’ compensation system, but gain the benefit of a system created to process claims quickly and efficiently without the formal rules of evidence and associated filing and legal fees.

Through the workers’ compensation system in California, injured workers may seek temporary disability benefits to replace lost wages while they are recovering form their injury.  Injured workers may also seek medical treatment for their injury, transportation to their medical appointments if they are unable to drive, mileage reimbursement for driving to their medical appointments if they can drive, permanent disability benefits based on their degree of disability, future medical care for their workplace injury, and a life pension if they are unable to ever return to work.

The workers’ compensation system in California does not allow injured workers to claim damages for pain and suffering or punitive damages for their employer’s negligence.

The process begins when an injured worker reports their injury to their employer.  The employer should then provide the injured worker with a standard claim form called a DWC-1 which is to be completed by the injured worker and their employer.  This form is then sent to the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier and the claim is opened. 

While the system does not require that the injured worker hire an attorney to represent them, there is a great benefit to having an attorney on your side.  The workers’ compensation system can be confusing and many of the benefits provided are only awarded if the injured worker or her attorney requests or demands them.  In addition, a workers’ compensation attorney will ensure that the injured worker’s best interests are taken into account in the selection of the treating doctors, the attorney will interface with the insurance company to keep the claim moving, and the attorney will negotiate the best possible settlement of the claim once the injured worker’s permanent disability level is determined by a Qualified Medical Examiner.

If you would like more information, have been injured at work, or need the assistance of an attorney, please contact us at J.D. Perkins Law.  We have 15 years of litigation experience, have a deep understanding of the insurance company defense tactics, and will fight to get you the best treatment and most benefits available.