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Law Offices of Ochoa & Calderon Riverside Workers' Compensation Attorneys

Riverside Workers’ Compensation Attorneys

Helping Southern California Workers Injured on the Job Get Medical Care and Wage Replacement Benefits

Just about every employee in California is covered by workers’ compensation insurance. Even if you are the only employee at your workplace, your boss is likely required to cover you with workers’ comp. If you get hurt at work, regardless of whether the accident was due to a co-worker’s negligence, a defective piece of machinery, or your own carelessness, you can get workers’ comp benefits. These benefits will pay for your medical treatment and replace a portion of your wages while you are disabled from working.

Not surprisingly, some employers and their insurance companies don’t make it easy for you to get workers’ comp benefits, because they don’t want to have to pay for them. It’s a shame they make the process harder than it has to be, but it’s truly tragic if your employer or their insurer keeps you from getting the benefits you need and deserve and that they are required by law to provide. We can help. At Ochoa & Calderon, our experienced California workers’ compensation attorneys have over 15 years of experience helping injured workers get the medical care and benefits they are entitled to after an on-the-job injury.

If you were injured at work in Riverside or Southern California and are having trouble getting your workers’ comp claim approved, call Ochoa & Calderon for a free consultation with one of our skilled California workers’ compensation lawyers.

What Benefits Does Workers’ Compensation Provide?

California workers’ compensation benefits fall into five different categories: medical care, wage replacement, disability, job displacement, and death benefits.

Medical Care

Workers’ comp should pay for all reasonably necessary medical treatment related to a work-related illness or injury on the job. Benefits can cover doctor visits, physical therapy, chiropractic or occupational therapy, prescriptions and medical equipment, and mileage reimbursement for travel to and from the doctor or pharmacy.

Wage Replacement

If you are temporarily disabled and cannot work, workers’ comp pays two-thirds of your regular wages for the duration of your disability for up to two years.

Disability

If your disability is permanent, you’ll receive a rating based on the nature of the disability and body part or system affected, and then receive permanent disability benefits according to a schedule of benefits found in the law.

Job Displacement

If you can’t go back to your former job because of a disability, you can get a $6,000 voucher to pay for training, licensing or certification to help you get a new job in a different skill area.

Death Benefits

The spouse, children or other dependents of an employee who dies from a work-related illness or injury can get up to $10,000 for reasonable burial expenses, plus benefits at the total temporary disability rate. These benefits can add up to $250,000 or more, depending on the total number of dependents left behind.

Ochoa & Calderon Can Help You Get Your Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Workers’ compensation should cover any injury that occurs on the job, whether due to one traumatic event like a fall, burn, or getting hit with an object, or injuries caused over time by repetitive stress or exertion. Occupational illnesses and diseases are also covered, such as illnesses caused by toxic exposure to chemicals, or heart disease and hypertension for people in certain high-stress occupations like police officers, firefighters and first responders. If you had a pre-existing condition that was not work-related but that was aggravated on the job, workers’ comp should cover treatment for the exacerbation of the condition.

Unless you are lucky, your employer and their insurer will try to get out of paying benefits, or they will try to pay less than is due or terminate benefits early before you are ready to return to work. They’ll attempt to do this in the following ways:

  • Claiming your injury is not work-related, that it did not occur in the course or scope of employment

  • Pinning your injury on a pre-existing condition

  • Disputing that you are injured at all, or saying that you are exaggerating how bad your injury is

  • Alleging the accident occurred while you where intoxicated

  • Stating that you intentionally caused the injury

  • Contending the accident happened due to your violation of a workplace safety rule

  • Claiming that you failed to report the accident in time or follow other required procedures

  • Repeatedly requiring you to submit to independent medical exams by their doctors to show you are not disabled or are no longer disabled

You have rights as an employee when it comes to workers’ compensation, and an experienced workers’ compensation attorney can make sure those rights are respected. At Ochoa & Calderon, we can represent you in dealing with the insurance carrier and advocate on your behalf in administrative hearings and appeals with the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC). We’ll even go to court if necessary to defend your claim. Our Riverside workers’ compensation lawyers never stop fighting for you.

How to Respond After an Injury at Work

  • Report any injury to your employer immediately
  • Ask for treatment, and follow your doctor’s orders
  • Call Ochoa & Calderon at 844-401-0750 to schedule your FREE consultation
  • Let us help you receive the maximum financial recovery possible

Riverside Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Ready to Work for You

For help getting benefits after an on-the-job injury or workplace illness, call Ochoa & Calderon to discuss your case with an experienced and successful California workers’ comp lawyer. Call 951-901-4444 in Riverside or 844-401-0750 toll-free throughout Southern California.

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