At Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Modesto, we provide strong representation for workers who suffer head injuries while in the workplace. We demand the maximum recovery support for victims. Employees and their families should contact a skilled Workers’ Compensation lawyer and schedule a free consultation. It’s a no-risk way to determine what your head injury is worth and how to hold an at-fault employer responsible.
Do I Need a Lawyer for My Workers’ Compensation Claim?
If your injury isn’t being taken seriously or you feel you aren’t being offered enough support from Workers’ Compensation, it’s time to speak to a lawyer about your case. Your attorney can force employers and Workers’ Compensation insurance providers to treat you fairly. Your attorney can also often secure much more in injury support on your behalf than you could secure for yourself.
Another reason you may want a skilled Modesto Workers’ Compensation Lawyer is if you are being falsely accused of misconduct that may have caused your injury. An employer can distort the facts to try to avoid responsibility for a dangerous head injury, but your attorney can investigate what happened and secure evidence that reveals the truth.
These are just a few other ways a lawyer can protect you and secure more for your family:
- Files your case for you
- Demands more in Workers’ Comp benefits for you
- Defends you against false accusations
- Appears before Workers’ Compensation administrators and judges on your behalf
- Represents you before a Workers’ Compensation Judge and makes sure your side of the store is heard
- Files lawsuits if an employer makes threats toward you or fires you for reporting an accident
- Handles the entire frustrating process while giving you time to focus on getting better
The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) explains a few other reasons that injured workers may benefit from being represented by an experienced attorney.
Head Injury Accident Dangers in Modesto
Modesto owners of companies and corporations owe their employees more than just a paycheck. Under California labor laws, they are required to provide workers with safe workspaces. That means protection from the risk of dangerous blows to the head.
The risks can come in many forms in many different types of jobs. Construction workers may be struck by stuff falling overhead. Farmworkers might suffer head trauma after a strike from a fast-moving piece of farm equipment. Even office workers can suffer harm if they take a tumble down a stairwell in disrepair and hit their heads multiple times. Workers in warehouses may suffer a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) after taking a fall from a high platform.
Employers must provide training and safety equipment to prevent these frightening incidents. If they are negligent in these duties, they should be responsible for the cost of recovery when workers get hurt. All injured workers should be supported by Workers Comp, but they can be denied enough in financial assistance to pay all of their medical costs.
These are just some of the dangerous head injuries suffered in workplace accidents that might leave victims with devastating symptoms and in real debt:
- Skull Fractures: Different parts of the skull may suffer a break, including the bones behind the face. One serious complication results when a piece of the broken bone pushes into the brain. Immediate surgery may be necessary.
- Brain Bleed: This is a type of stroke that results when a blood vessel bursts due to an accident and impact. Blood builds on the brain and increases in pressure, cutting off oxygen to the brain.
- TBIs: UCLA explains that a Traumatic Brain Injury is when the brain is injured due to penetrating force or a quick movement of the head. Serious TBIs might lead to seizures and a shortened lifespan. Victims can lose their ability to think clearly and might suffer a permanent disability that won’t ever allow them the return to work.
- Concussions: Concussions are considered a mild form of TBI, but the effects can be serious. Victims could have headaches for days. They might also have vision issues and have trouble keeping balance.
- Diffuse Axonal Damage: Nerve fibers in the brain are damaged due to a blow to the head. The brain is jostled back and forth in an accident, such as a fall in the workplace and nerves are torn. Brain damage is possible.
Head injuries can affect victims for months or years. It’s only fair that employers are there for them. This can mean temporary support while victims heal and can return to their jobs. It can also mean a lifetime of support if a patient suffers permanent brain damage. Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyer is ready to help victims force a Workers’ Compensation insurance company to accept liability and assist patients financially for as long as necessary.
What Kind of Support Can I Expect After Suffering a Head Injury at Work?
The State’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) Injured Worker’s Handbook goes over the level of compensation victims can receive while recovering from a head wound or brain injury that occurred at work.
Your attorney would seek these benefits and more for you and your family:
- Support to pay all hospital bills
- Replacement for a percentage of the paychecks you’ve lost
- Longterm support if you develop a permanent physical disability
- Money to go towards education and training for a new career if you can’t return to your former job
- Death benefits to help families get buy after losing a loved one to a workplace accident and the income that may have supported family members
Can I Sue My Employer After Suffering a Head Injury at Work?
Injured workers are usually limited to drawing support from Workers’ Compensation. In many cases, a lawsuit against an employer would be rejected. However, in some circumstances, victims can seek additional compensation by taking the company or corporation they work for to court.
If an employer is proven to have been reckless with the safety of employees or to have covered up knowledge of safety hazards, a lawsuit could be effective. This type of disregard for employee safety would likely fall under “gross negligence.” It’s a legal term that describes such careless behavior towards the safety of others that the accident could almost be considered intentional.
Injured workers could secure support for things that Workers’ Comp doesn’t provide. That can include compensation for the pain head injury victims must endure. It also includes the emotional trauma brain injury victims suffer.
A brain injury can restrict the activities a patient can participate in, including quality family time and hobbies. Victims can experience a serious loss of enjoyment of life that leads to depression and anxiety. Negligent employers should be responsible for these very real consequences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a deadline for reporting my brain injury to my company?
Yes. You must inform your manager or the company owner within a month of your injury. Alert them as soon as you can. If you wait, your case may be rejected and you won’t receive help with your medical costs.
How long can I wait to inform California Workers’ Compensation of my injury?
Victims can file a Workers’ Comp claim up to a year from the date of the accident. If a victim doesn’t know about the injury until later, the one-year countdown would begin on the date the injury was discovered.
Can undocumented workers receive Workers’ Compensation benefits in California?
Yes, their citizenship status doesn’t matter. California also prohibits employers from threatening or intimidating undocumented workers because they have reported an injury. A Modesto Workers’ Compensation Attorney will work to get those workers full benefits. Our lawyers also take quick legal action if employers try to intimidate or threaten a worker for reporting an injury. This behavior is illegal.
Can Union Members Benefit from Having a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer?
Yes. Union members still receive benefits from California’s Division of Workers Compensation after they’ve been hurt. A skilled lawyer can represent them and often earn them more to pay recovery costs. A lawyer can also make sure employers extend the additional benefits guaranteed through a labor agreement. This can mean a bigger refund on lost income and stronger protections to make sure injured victims don’t lose their jobs.
What if I don’t have any money to pay a Workers’ Compensation lawyer?
You don’t have any savings to afford powerful legal representation. If you need our help earning what’s fair, we don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our pay comes out of the settlement check an at-fault driver’s car insurer must pay you.
How much does a lawyer get paid after a successful Worker’s Compensation case?
Your lawyer might receive somewhere between 10% to 15% of your Workers’ Comp award, but the fee can vary. The fee would be decided before you hire a lawyer and depends on how complex and time-consuming a case will be. A lawyer’s fee is also examined by a Workers’ Compensation Judge. The judge has to agree that the fee amount is fair before a lawyer can be paid.
Contact a Modesto Workers’ Compensation Brain Injury Attorney
Contact Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Modesto to schedule a free, confidential consultation with a real Modesto Workers’ Compensation Lawyer. We want to hear what happened to you and work on a plan to earn you the support you need.
We’re going to answer your questions and make sure you are prepared for the tactics you’ll face so you don’t forfeit valuable support. You’ll know what your head injury is worth and what you’ll need for the future before an insurance adjuster tries to convince you it’s worth nothing at all.