Contact an Attorney If You Are Not Getting the Workers Compensation Claim That You Should

On the whole within the state of California, workers compensation claims are fairly straight forward and would not necessarily require the services of a firm of Riverside workers compensation attorneys. Instead, filing a claim would simply involve the injured party handing in a completed form CA-1 to the company's insurance carrier via the employer. As long as everything is above board the insurance carrier will payout compensation to cover loss of wages during the recovery period as well as any immediate medical expenses incurred as a result. This is recognised as a 'no blame' policy and means that the victim can get access to quick and easy payment (usually within 72 hours) without having to go through expensive litigation processes.

Having said this there are instances when you may want to call upon the services of a team of Riverside County workers comp lawyers, if for one reason or another you are not getting the money that you are entitled to. So with this in mind, here are some instances when a skilled attorney can help.

Your employer has not passed your claim up to the insurance carrier

There may be several reasons as to why a legitimate claim isn't passed up the chain to the insurance carrier. Firstly it may be that the employer is unsure about whether your injury happened whilst at work. This is particularly true of ongoing injuries such as back pain as it can be hard to prove whether the back pain was caused because of something that happened at work, or whether the back pain had simply flared up because of something that happened outside of work. A skilled attorney can look into this further and can help you prepare your case to be reviewed for the workers compensation board

Another reason may be that your employer simply hasn't kept up payments on the premiums and as a result the insurance coverage has lapsed. Or alternatively your employer does not want to pass up your claim for fear of increasing their monthly premium payments. In California it is decreed that any company that employs one or more people has to have covering workers compensation insurance. In this instance you can instruct a lawyer to file a claim against the employer for negligence.

Your claim has reached the insurance company, but they have either paid out a limited amount, or denied the claim entirely.

If your claim has reached the insurance company but you have got a letter back stating that the claim has been denied, then this can be a very frustrating time and one in which a Riverside workers compensation attorney can assist. Again there may be several reasons for this. Firstly it may be a simple oversight on behalf of the assessor, in which case a lawyer has the power to instruct the insurance company to make the payment, if the workers compensation board found it to be valid.

Secondly, it might be a little more complex as an insurance company may have deliberately denied the claim or have underpaid. This is classed as insurance bad faith as the insurers are not fulfilling their part of the contract. If this is the case and is proved to be so a lawyer can file for punitive damages directly against the insurer as well as instructing them to pay out on the claim itself

Payment has ceased before you are ready to return to work

By the same authority that insurers can decide which claims to pay out on (on the proviso that every claim is treated equally), they can also cease payment on the say so of the company doctor. It may be that you are not physically ready to return to work, but the company doctor and your insurers say that you are. Again a team of workers compensation lawyers Riverside will be able to call upon the services of an independent doctor who can examine you and present their findings back to your lawyer. If your claim is validated then your attorney can instruct the insurance carrier to re-initiate payments.

As you can see, there are many ways in which an attorney can help. If you are in the state of California and believe that you are victim to a workers compensation claim then you really need to speak to an experienced Riverside workers compensation attorney as soon as possible. They will do everything in their power to make sure that you get the compensation that you deserve.