On April 28th, 2022, the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and Cal/OSHA officially honored Workers’ Memorial Day. It is a global day of remembrance to honor those who have lost their lives to a workplace accident or occupational disease. Workers’ Memorial Day also serves as an important reminder that we need to do more to …
California requires businesses, nonprofits, and public employers to provide no-fault workers’ comp coverage to their employees (California Labor Code § 3700). If you are hurt on the job, you have the right to seek workers’ compensation to cover medical care and lost wages. You do not have to prove your employer was “at fault” to …
How Long Does it Take the Average Workers’ Compensation Claim to Settle in California? Read More »
In some cases, an injury can make a person vulnerable to other medical complications. Under California’s workers’ compensation laws, this type of new health problem may be considered a compensable consequence. In California, a compensable consequence is an injury or health condition that arises directly out of an industrial injury. This raises an important question: What qualifies …
California Workers’ Compensation: What is a Compensable Consequence? Read More »
Under California Labor Code § 4800, certain frontline workers—including police officers, firefighters, and other public safety personnel—are entitled to additional legal protection in the event that they suffer a job-related injury. Referred both as “Labor Code Section 4850 benefits” and “Labor Code Section 4850 Time,” this special provision allows qualifying employees to receive their full salary …
Under California workers’ compensation laws, there are two broad categories of work injuries — specific injuries and cumulative trauma. A specific injury occurs in a single event, in which an employee is hurt at a specific place and time. In contrast, cumulative trauma injuries develop gradually over time. They occur as the collective consequence of many repetitive movements …
California Workers’ Compensation: Defending a ‘Cumulative Trauma’ Claim Read More »
Imagine that you fired or laid off an employee. A few months later, you receive notice that the former employee has filed a workers’ compensation claim. Can they really do that? The short answer is ‘yes’—and it happens far more often than most people realize. At the same time, not all claims filed after termination are compensable. …
Post-Termination Defense Under Labor Code 3600(a)(10): What You Need to Know Read More »
Workers’ compensation insurance provides no-fault benefits to people who were injured while on the job. An employer can be held responsible for a workplace injury even if the accident was not their fault. That being said, liability is not automatic. There are several affirmative defenses that employers and insurers can raise to deny coverage. An …
Affirmative Workers’ Comp Defense: California Law and Intoxicated Employees Read More »
Workers’ compensation insurance provides medical coverage and wage loss benefits to employees who were hurt on the job. As emphasized by the California Department of Industrial Relations, “employers are required by law to have workers’ compensation insurance.” For employers and insurers, navigating the workers’ comp claims process can be complicated. It is not uncommon to run …
When Should I Hire a Workers’ Comp Defense Lawyer in California? Read More »
Published by Joseph Yrulegui on June 11, 2020 We have previously discussed California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order that created a rebuttable presumption that COVID-19 is a compensable occupational disease. Under Executive Order N-62-20, employees who were required to work outside of the home between March 19th and July 5th and who contracted COVID-19 are presumed to have done …
A Rebuttable Presumption: How to Defend COVID-19 Workers’ Comp Claims in California Read More »
Published by Joseph Yrulegui on March 23, 2021 Workers’ Comp Defense in California: Understanding a Claimant’s Duty to Disclose On February 3rd, 2021, the California Department of Insurance announced workers’ compensation fraud charges against a Kern County man accused of bilking an insurance company. According to the allegations raised by the agency, this man unlawfully failed to …