Oxnard Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
Over 50 Years of Fighting for the Full Benefits You Are Owed After a Work Injury in Ventura County
The Pacific-coast city of Oxnard, known for its sunshine and strawberries, is the most populous city in Ventura County, with more than 200,000 residents. It’s very likely that some of those residents will suffer work-related injuries. Most will receive the workers’ compensation benefits they’re entitled to, but many will have their legitimate claims denied, not be able to access the treatment they need, or get cleared to return to work before they are physically ready.
Why Choose Crane Flores Injury & Car Accident Lawyers?
If this has happened to you, it’s important to know your rights and put a determined advocate on your side. At Crane Flores Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, we are prepared to help with all types of workers’ compensation issues. Our knowledgeable Oxnard workers’ compensation attorneys draw on more than 50 years of combined experience to provide the strong representation you need to get the positive results you deserve.
- You never pay fees unless we win your case with a settlement or verdict
- You can learn more about your case with a FREE case consultation
- You can get legal help at any time thanks to our 24/7/365 availability
- We can get you the best medical care available at no cost to you until your case settles
- Our firm can assist with car repairs and related property damage
- Our firm can recover your lost wages and medical expenses
- We can maximize your settlement for pain and suffering
- Your case is managed by legal pros from start to finish, including litigation if needed
- An entire team of attorneys and support staff working together on your case
- Representation from a team that has won millions of dollars for past clients
Understanding Your Workers’ Comp Benefits
There are five basic categories of workers’ compensation benefits you can claim depending on the nature of your work-related injury or illness.
These categories include:
- Medical care: Workers’ comp pays 100% of the expense for reasonable and necessary medical treatment.
- Temporary disability benefits: If your injury prevents you from doing your usual job, you are eligible for payments to make up about two-thirds of your lost income.
- Permanent disability benefits: If you don’t make a complete recovery, you are entitled to receive payments based on the extent of your disability.
- Supplemental job displacement benefits: If you can’t return to your old job because of the extent of your injury, you could receive vouchers to offset the cost of retraining or skill enhancement.
- Death benefits: When a worker dies as a result of a job-related injury or illness, workers’ compensation pays benefits to the surviving spouse, children, or other dependents.
Our firm helps clients with conflicts that can arise with any of these benefits. Reach out to our Oxnard work injury lawyers today for legal assistance.
Workers’ Compensation Eligibility
In a city of Oxnard’s size, workplace injuries are all too common. However, employers and insurance companies often try to deny workers’ comp benefits by ruling workers ineligible.
Here are some important facts about your eligibility and the way an insurer might try to justify denying your claim:
- Your coverage starts on your first day of work: However, the law requires you to have an employer-employee relationship with your company, and some employers may deliberately misclassify you as an independent contractor to avoid having to pay benefits. Many employees are denied benefits wrongfully because management misclassifies them.
- Workers’ comp pays benefits even when you are at fault: Workers’ comp is a no-fault insurance system, so a worker’s contributory negligence does not affect coverage. Still, employers often claim a worker is not covered because of deliberate self-harm or reckless horseplay that violates company policy.
- As long as your injury or illness is work-related, you are covered: The law says an injury is covered if it occurs during the course of employment and arises out of employment. That usually means you were doing something that benefited your employer and exposed you to risks you would not have faced but for your employment. A company could claim an injury happened offsite or off hours, but coverage might still apply.
Our attorneys investigate every aspect of your injury or illness to prove your eligibility for benefits, but you must be sure to report your injury promptly to your employer; a delay could mean you forfeit your rights to benefits. If you fail to notify your employer within 30 days and your employer can’t investigate the incident that led to your injury, you could lose your right to file a claim.
Workers’ Compensation Covers Various Types of Injuries
Oxnard’s economy is varied, including agriculture (Boskovich Farms and Gills Onions), medicine (St. John’s Regional Medical Center), education (Oxnard Union High School District), and manufacturing (Waterway Plastics, Haas Automation, and Aluminum Precision Products). The city is also a major transportation hub for Central Coast , connecting Amtrak, the Union Pacific Railroad, Metrolink, and Greyhound, and maintaining an active regional airport.
Varied economic activity means a variety of on-the-job injuries and illnesses, which include those caused by:
When is My Work Injury Case a Third-Party Claim?
Third-party injury claims apply mostly to workplace injuries and can be particularly helpful for construction workers injured on the jobsite. In some cases involving on-the-job injuries, workers’ compensation claims are the best route to take. In other situations, the reimbursement provided by these claims is not enough to meet the injured person’s continuing financial needs.
While injuries suffered on construction sites can be serious and potentially debilitating, temporary and permanent disability funds provided by workers’ compensation claims are typically low and do not take issues like pain and suffering into account. Depending on the circumstances of your injury, you may be eligible to file a “third-party” claim, in which a party other than your employer is liable and needs to offer additional compensation.
A third party might be liable for your injuries in many situations. For example:
- If a defective product such as a machine or piece of equipment caused your injury, you may be able to sue the manufacturer.
- If a toxic substance such as asbestos, benzene or radium caused your injury or illness, you may be able to file a “toxic tort” against the manufacturer.
- If your employer’s negligent or reckless conduct caused your injury, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit.
- If your employer does not carry workers’ compensation insurance, it may be grounds for suing your employer in civil court or collecting money from a state fund.
- If another person caused your injury while you were performing job duties, you may be able to bring a personal injury lawsuit against that individual.
Frequently Asked Questions: Workers’ Compensation
- Who pays for workers’ compensation?
The point of workers’ compensation is letting you recover from your work-related injury without damaging your financial stability. As such, all expenses related to your treatments should be paid for by the insurance company or program that sold your employer a workers’ compensation policy. For that coverage, your employer has to pay monthly premiums. But the important thing is that you shouldn’t have to pay for anything. - What should you not do during your workers’ compensation claim?
While your workers’ compensation claim is developing, there are plenty of things to do and a few things to not do. You should never exaggerate your injuries to try to get better benefits. You should never lie outright about your injury or any part of your claim. Lastly, you should not badmouth your employer. They can fire you for any nondiscriminatory reason – such as terminating you if you keep telling everyone that their irresponsibility caused your injury – without interfering with your workers’ compensation benefits. - Why do employers fight workers’ comp claims?
Employers need to pay monthly insurance premiums for workers’ compensation coverage. The premiums are mostly based on the number of employees covered, the type of work performed, and the number of past accidents and workplace injuries and claims. Some employers fight workers’ comp claims because they want to keep those premiums low by making it seem like there are fewer workplace accidents than there really are. - What qualifies as a work-related injury?
Generally, a work-related injury is any that is suffered while performing some sort of duty that is within your scope of employment. Also, any injury suffered by an employee within their place of employment might be a work-related injury that constitutes workers’ compensation, even if they were off-the-clock. - What injuries aren’t covered by workers’ comp?
If your injury only required first aid treatment, then it probably does not constitute workers’ compensation benefits. If your injury happened outside of the workplace or while you were not completing a work-related duty, then it probably isn’t covered, either. - Are mental health injuries covered by workers’ comp?
Some states allow employees to file worker’s compensation claims for mental health injuries and difficulties, as long as there is a connection between those injuries and the claimant’s employment. For example, a police officer who is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after responding to a violent shooting might be able to get workers’ comp benefits like therapy cost coverage and temporary disability pay. - What should you do if your workers’ comp claim is denied?
The first thing you should do when your worker’s comp claim is denied is to carefully read the denial letter to get a better understanding of why the denial happened. Next, you should take that letter to a local workers’ compensation attorney to discuss filing an appeal or a lawsuit. - Can you sue your employer in court over a work-related injury?
Rarely can employees sue their employees for a work-related injury if workers’ comp coverage is available. Such lawsuits usually only happen if the worker’s injuries are excluded from coverage or if no coverage exists, which is often the case for workers who are classified as independent contractors. There might also be an opportunity to sue your employer for non-economic damage like those related to your pain and suffering if your workplace accident was caused by egregious negligence.
You can file a workers’ comp claim without fear since it’s illegal for your employer to punish you in any way or fire you for exercising your rights. If you are having any problems getting the benefits you’re entitled to, we can help. If you’ve been injured on the job in Ventura or Santa Barbara County, Crane Flores Injury & Car Accident Lawyers can help you access the benefits you deserve.
