If somebody is injured or becomes ill because of the job they are doing, they are then entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Los Angeles will pay the cost of all the medical and hospital bills for that particular employee.
Also, if a worker cannot be able to work because of a job-related injury, he or she is eligible for payment of the lost wages using a temporary disability. Additionally, the worker is likely to get an industrial disability leave.
The other important thing to know is that the employee is entitled to benefits if he or she caused the accident that led to his or her injury.
Time to File the Claim
In most cases, the injured person is supposed to file the complaint within the first 30 days. Failure to which the individual suffers enormous medical expenses. Taking one year means that one is already late.
However, when a person files the claim within the shortest time possible, he or she will benefit from the application.
The accident may be unintentional. All the employers in Los Angeles are required by the law to have worker compensation insurance or even have self-insurance against the employees. Thus, it’s hard to find an employer who does not have an insurance policy for the employees.
Legal Repercussions
The law is stringent on the insurance and failure to pay the insurance is a criminal offense. If the employer does not have an insurance policy, it is their responsibility to pay the bills related to the injury or the medical condition. Some employers may be illegally uninsured, and the workers can suit a file against such employers.
Once an individual gets the injury on the work, the first thing to do is to notify the supervisor or the manager. Some illness like hearing problems develops while someone is on the job. Once a person realizes that the sickness is growing, he or she notifies the person’s employer.
After reporting the injury to the employer, you will get the necessary emergency treatment. The worker needs to fill a claim form. After filling the application form, then medication will start.
Your Legal Protections
Some workers may fear getting fired if they fill the claim form. It is wrong for an employer to fire an employee on such a basis.
If the worker firmly believes that the work caused the disability, he or she is not supposed to fear at all. The employer also can fire the co-workers who testify in the injury case.
The law protects the workers and ensures that all their claims are compensated. Thus, the workers should not fear file the complaint. Some of the benefits given to the employees include Temporary disability payments, permanent disability payments, medical care, and death benefits for the dependents of the deceased worker.
Medical care
As mentioned earlier, the workers are entitled to health care resulting from the injuries obtained from work.
The employee’s compensation appeal board is supposed to award a lifetime medical for work-related injuries. Medical care is expected to cover all the treatment necessary as the doctor orders.
Apart from the cost of the procedure, the compensation must include the reimbursement for transportation to and from the medical treatment centers and the pharmacies.
Temporary disability
When a worker is unable to perform the duties in work, he or she is entitled to some benefits. The benefits are supposed to start on the fourth day when a worker is absent from the job.
The absence must be due to work-related illness or injury. Apparently, compensation is not within the first three days of the work. The benefits rates are two-thirds the average payment of the worker.
Moreover, the employee is supposed to get the payments until he or she returns to work. The good thing with amounts is that they are untaxable. They are given to the beneficiary once the case is solved.
Death Benefits
An employee may die on the job from a job-related injury. The worker may also die from:
- A heart attack
- Cancer
- Stroke
- Any other disease that is aggravated by the work
The spouse, minor children, or any other dependents are entitled to receive the benefits. Furthermore, if the job-related injury was not the leading cause of the death, but it contributed to the reasons for the departure, the children and the spouse would still get the benefits.
Also, there are allowances for the reimbursement of fuel expenses. The employer must always be prepared to give benefits to the workers when injuries occur in the work environment.