I’ve been hurt on the job. Do I have a Workers’ Compensation case?
Workers compensation is a no fault system which provides benefits for injuries at work. This means that so long as you suffered an injury at work, we don’t care whose fault it was: the employers, your own fault, a co-workers, someone other than your employer. If your injury happened at work, you should get workers compensation benefits for your injury. Note that if someone other than your employer or a co-worker caused your injury, you might also be able to bring a personal injury action against that person or company. A workers’ compensation attorney will be able to refer you to a good personal injury attorney.
Kinds of Injuries:
Specific Injuries: These are the kind of injuries that arise from a specific incident like a fall from a ladder, motor vehicle collision or lifting a heavy object. For a specific injury, the date, time, place and circumstances which led to the injury can be easily identified.
Cumulative Injuries: These are the kind of injuries that develop gradually and worsen over time, usually from repetitive activities like keyboard/computer use, lifting and bending. One usually cannot pinpoint a specific day when the injury occurred. In workers compensation cases, we often use the last day worked or the last day of injurious repetitive activity as the date of injury
To answer your question, Do you have a case?:
If you suffered an injury at work, you “have a case” – a workers’ compensation claim. You might have a big case or a small case. You may have an easy case or a difficult case. You may or may not need an attorney’s help. It is a good idea to get a free consultation with a workers compensation attorney early in the process to find out what you can expect and to protect your rights. Call us to set up an appointment (510) 272-0300.
