If you’ve been injured while carrying out your job duties in California, there’s a crucial need to understand your legal rights and obligations. Usually, injuries at work are handled through the workers’ compensation system — a no-fault mechanism designed to expedite financial relief for injury-related losses.
However, specific situations do allow an injured employee to pursue personal injury claims outside this system. Knowing when such situations arise is vital for ensuring you obtain rightful compensation. It’s helpful to first understand what workers’ compensation is, its benefits, and situations in which you may be able to file a lawsuit.
Understanding Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation is a system that provides employees with certain benefits should they suffer from workplace-related injuries or illnesses.
Generally, these benefits cover necessities such as medical expenses related to the injury, wage loss due to time off work for recovery, and support for any ongoing care needed.
Worker’s compensation functions under no-fault laws. It means you can secure these benefits without needing to demonstrate that your employer was negligent in causing the accident and can do so even if you were in some way responsible for injuring yourself.
Downside of Workers’ Compensation
While workers’ compensation offers essential benefits in the wake of a workplace injury, it isn’t without its limitations.
Workers’ compensation is designed primarily to be efficient; payments are supposed to start rapidly without needing litigation. However, this efficiency comes at a cost: it doesn’t take pain and suffering into account when determining claim value.
Additionally, it’s important to note that workers’ compensation payouts are typically not as large as what you may be awarded in a personal injury lawsuit.
Finally, once the claim for an injury gets accepted through workers’ compensation, it typically eliminates your ability to sue the employer directly. Therefore, even if company negligence was directly responsible for injuries sustained in an employment context, your acceptance of workers’ compensation claims prevents further action from being taken.
When Can You Sue Your Employer for an Injury at Work in California?
While understanding the parameters of workers’ compensation is essential, it’s equally important to know about particular exceptional circumstances in which you can sue your employer directly for injuries suffered on the job. Here are some specific scenarios.
When the Injury Is Caused by Employer’s Intentional Conduct
In cases where an employer has purposefully caused harm, lawsuit options outside of just filing a worker’s compensation claim exist. These uncommon situations might include an orchestrated physical attack or overruling safety guidelines to record financial savings.
When Employer Wrongfully Terminates or Denies Workers’ Compensation Benefits
There may be situations where an employer illegally denies your privileges for compensation or even terminates you after an accident. In such situations, filing a lawsuit would likely be within your rights.
When the Employer Does Not Have Adequate Workers’ Compensation Coverage
If your employer lacks sufficient workers’ compensation insurance coverage or has none at all, you might be entitled to sue them for damages in a personal injury lawsuit. While almost all employers in California are required to have workers’ compensation insurance, it happens that sometimes this rule is violated. In these cases, you should be able to file a lawsuit.
Injuries Resulting From Violations of Civil Rights
Additionally, employees can also take legal action if workplace injuries are associated with violations of civil rights. If your injury is due to racial discrimination or sexual harassment from an employer who created a hostile work environment that inevitably led to mental stress and physical harm, you may have the right to file a lawsuit.
Concealment of Injury by Employer
If your employer actively concealed the circumstances leading to or the nature of an injury to avoid liability, it opens up a channel for you to file a lawsuit. This scenario is often referred to as ‘fraudulent concealment’ and includes any situation where an employer attempted to cover up your work-related injury or lied about its cause.
Knowing your rights is critical when injured at work in California. Understanding the nuances of workers’ compensation and personal injury lawsuits can steer you toward the optimal outcome, ensuring that you secure everything you’re entitled to receive.
FAQS
What should you do if you’re injured on the job?
Your immediate actions following an injury can be pivotal for your recovery, both medically and financially. Here’s a brief outline of what to do if you’re injured at work.
Seek Medical Attention
First, always prioritize your health immediately after experiencing any kind of accident or injury while working. Seek medical help promptly, as acting fast not only benefits patient outcomes but also forms early documentation needed when seeking compensation.
Report Your Injury to Your Employer
It is crucial that you report your injury to a manager or employer without delay. This helps initiate the paperwork process necessary for filing for compensation and ensures you don’t lose your chance to obtain these benefits by missing a reporting deadline.
Obtain Witness Contact Information
Make an effort to collect the contact information of anyone who witnessed your accident. Witnesses play a crucial role in establishing facts about how exactly the injury occurred and can provide testimony that backs up your claim.
Photos and Evidence
If possible, try to document evidence at the scene. This might include photographs of where you were injured or anything relating to what caused it, like unsafe working conditions.
Speak With a Lawyer
Contacting an attorney as early on as possible will help ensure that your rights are fully protected, and you’re maximizing the compensation available to you.
What’s the difference between a civil suit and workers’ compensation benefits?
Workers’ compensation benefits and civil suits are two distinct paths to obtaining compensation after a work-related injury.
On the one hand, workers’ compensation is an insurance system that provides certain protections for employees who get injured or sick as a direct result of their job. This is a no-fault system where you do not have to prove negligence to obtain benefits.
On the other hand, a civil lawsuit typically involves a claim that one party’s negligence caused your injury. In these types of claims, you must demonstrate the liability of the responsible entity and show proof of your damages.
What is employer immunity?
Employer immunity grants employers a degree of protection from a workplace accident lawsuit when a worker is injured on the job.
Typically, as long as an accident has occurred within the scope of employment and there’s no evidence suggesting fraud or corruption, employer immunity applies. It drives employees to seek relief through workers’ compensation instead of filing personal injury claims.
This is not absolute, and exceptions do exist.
In California, deadlines are defined to mandate the timeline within which claims related to workplace injuries must be reported and filed.
For workers’ compensation claims, you typically need to report any injury sustained at your job within 30 days of its occurrence. Failing to do so will likely forfeit your benefits. You also usually have only one year from the date of the injury to file a formal worker’s comp claim.
For a workplace injury lawsuit, the window of opportunity is a bit longer. California law stipulates that you generally have two years from the date of the injury or from when it was or reasonably should have been discovered to file a lawsuit.
Contact Gomez Trial Attorneys for Help With Your Work Injury Claim
If you’re dealing with a work-related injury in California, it’s essential to consult with an experienced workplace accident attorney as soon as possible. At Gomez Trial Attorneys, we understand the nuances of workers’ compensation and personal injury laws and can guide you through pursuing your rightful benefits. Contact us today for a free consultation by calling 619-237-3490 or by contacting us online.