What To Do If You Have Been Injured On The Job In Chula Vista
If you worked and sustained a work-related illness or injury at a facility in Chula Vista, you may need to hire a Chula Vista Workers Compensation Attorney. If that is the case, your employer is required by California law to compensate you in the form of workers’ compensation benefits. Prime examples of how you could get hurt include hurting your ankle from a fall, sustaining a burn injury by a chemical, being involved in a vehicle accident while you were making deliver, or to experience repeated exposure, such as injuring your wrist from conducting the same motion over and over, as well as to loose your hearing due to continuous loud noises in the workplace.
What To Do If You Sustain An Injury On The Job
1) Medical Treatment
If you sustain an injury while on the job at a facility that’s located in Chula Vista, you need to obtain first-aid or any other medical treatment that’s necessary, as soon as possible. With the exception of an emergency situation, the health care provider that you use must be part of the medical provider networks (MPN’s) setup by workers’ compensation insurance companies in the state of California. These MPN’s have a list of doctors exclusive to them and, in accordance with workers compensation laws on California, it is these doctors that should treat you. There are very few circumstances that would allow you to treat outside the insurance companies’ MPN.
2) Notification
Once you have received medical attention, you’ll need to notify your supervisor or manager about said injury and the way of which it transpired as soon as you get the chance. If you fail to inform your employer within 30 days after the date of which the injury occurred, you may lose your right to benefits. In the event that you develop an occupational illness, you need to notify your employer within two years after the illness manifested itself or within 2 years of when you realized that the disease is in fact work-related.
3) File A Claim
Once you notify your employer, they will provide you with a claim form. You’ll need to carefully complete this form and return it to your employer as soon as possible, along with your signature and the date and time of your injury. In the event that you experience a occupational disease, you need to submit this claim within 2 years from the date of which the illness occurred or 2 years after you became aware or should have known that it was a work-related illness. When it comes to submitting your claim, you can choose to submit it yourself, or mail it via ‘Certified Mail’ to your employer.
After You File A Claim
In order for you to ensure that you receive benefits, ensure that you do the following:
* Follow your primary care doctor’s instructions.
* Go to an independent medical examination if you are told to do so.
* Get back to work as soon as you fully recover.
* Attend any hearings that arise as a result of your case, when or if you’re notified.
Accepted Claims
By law, you should typically hear whether the claim was denied or accepted by a claim administrator within a time-span of 90 days. If 90 days have transpired, your injury is presumed to be covered. If your claim is accepted, you are entitled to several different benefits which are:
* Medical care
* Permanent disability payments
* Death benefits to your dependents/spouse
* Payments if you do not recover completely
* Vouchers for skill enhancement, if you do not return to your job site in Chula Vista
Delayed Claims
In some cases, your claim may be denied due to a pending investigation or error in the information that you provided. However, in most cases the insurance company may intentionally delay your claim due to the fact that they are more concerned about adding shareholder value. For this reason amongst others, you should utilize the services of a workers compensation lawyer in Chula Vista to expedite the process.
Denied Claims
It’s not uncommon for claims administrators to find the slightest opportunity to deny or delay your claim. In the most outrageous of cases, people have even been denied because the insurance carrier did not believe they were actually an employee. What you need to know is that if you receive a denial letter, you can appeal the decision by filing an “Application for Adjudication of Claim.” However, if you received a denial letter ensure that you use the services of a competent Chula Vista Workers’ Compensation Attorney to make sure that said insurance carrier will not use the slightest chance they have to deny your claim once more.
Specialized Chula Vista Workers Compensation Attorney
As maintained before insurance carriers will use any opportunity they get to deny or delay your claim. In some instances they may even deny your claim for something as simple as a misspelling of your name, incorrect date or a ‘lack of detail’. This is why it’s highly recommended that you use the services of a competent workers compensation lawyer Chula Vista. Even though a delay may not seem like a big issue at first glance, you need to remember that the longer the insurance company takes to accept your claim, the longer you’ll have to go without being able to take care of your financial responsibilities, which if left unchecked can lead to utility shut-offs and/or a eviction. By using a Chula Vista Workers Compensation Attorney, they will assist you when it comes to ensuring that the claims administrators do not have an excuse for denying your claim, as well as to provide the necessary documents that can help to validate your claim which will expedite the whole process.
