WHY HIRE AN ATTORNEY?

California has its own laws that govern workers’ compensation. Stephen Dial and his team at Dial & Associates can help you navigate the workers’ comp laws in California, whether you have recently been injured on the job or are having problems with an existing workers’ compensation claim. Stephen Dial, a graduate of Harvard Law School, has the knowledge and experience to best help you with your case and will fight to get the compensation you deserve and are entitled to.

With Orange County Workers’ Comp Lawyer Steve Dial, you will have a greater chance of receiving the benefits to which you are entitled than if you pursued the claim on your own.

How Can Attorney Dial Help You?

An experienced Orange County Workers Comp Attorney can help ensure that legitimate workers’ compensation claims do not get denied by insurance carriers. Often insurance companies and employers delay in authorization the compensation for the injured workers, for a number of reasons. Insurance companies may be wary of workers’ comp fraud, which occurs when employees make fake or exaggerated claims to yield a significant payout, or may refuse to pay because it isn’t in their financial interest. Likewise, employers might deny claim because they don’t want their premiums to rise or try to cover up the injury and deny it ever occurred.

An OC Workers’ Compensation attorney can gather evidence, such as medical records, safety reports, and the eyewitnesses to your workplace accident to help support your claim. Further, if your claim is denied, an experience attorney may be able to file an appeal with the California Workers’ Comp Board (WCAB) demanding those benefits be paid.

Workers’ compensation in California covers lost wages, medical treatment, and permanent or partial disability funds. An knowledgeable and experienced attorney can determine whether you can seek additional compensation through a personal injury lawsuit if someone other than your employer is to blame for your injuries.

Filing a Claim with a Orange County Workers' Compensation Lawyer

In California, injured workers have one year to file what is known as an application of adjudication. While one year is the limit, it is advisable not to delay this process. Your application should be filed as soon as is practical following the date of injury.

Following the notice of injury, a workers’ compensation attorney can then help you file an application of adjudication with the California Workers Compensation Board (WCAB). At this point, there are several issues that need to be addressed before your case can move forward:

  • Determining where the injury took place
  • Confirming the your employment
  • Proving the injury was due to a work injury
  • Accessing records given to you by your employer

Workers’ Comp attorney Stephen Dial and his team can guide you throughout the process of filing the claim to ensure that the proper forms are filled out correctly and in a timely manner.

Denied Workers' Compensation Claims

Attorney Steve Dial has seen unscrupulous employers use a wide range of tactics against their employees to try to undermine injured workers’ workplace injury claims, such as claiming a victim suffered an injury due to the worker’s’ own negligence. Other examples include:

  • Firing an injured employee who has been cleared for work
  • Unjustly giving the employee a negative performance review
  • Claiming the victims injuries are “pre-existing”
  • Claiming injuries occurred outside the workplace
  • Claiming that an employee’s injuries no longer need to be treated

By law in California, injured workers can receive treatment for their injuries even though your claim is denied. The team at Dial & Associates know which doctors will treat you even if your claim is denied.

And by law, employers in California cannot fire an employee in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. If an employer fires you just for being injured and filing a claim the employer is in violation of Labor Code §132a which prohibits employers for discriminating against employees who file workers’ compensation claims. An experienced attorney can help protect your rights, Stephen Dial knows your rights and how to enforce them.

If You Can't Return to Your Job

If your employer can’t accommodate your work restrictions after you have reached MMI (Maximum Medical Improvement), your employer can terminate your employment. If the nature of the job duties are is such a worker with your restrictions is not able to perform the job. For example, if you are a stacker and you are not allowed to lift more than ten pounds, you likely won’t be able to return to that job. Your employer could then terminate your employment.

Your employer has the option of offering you alternative, light duty work. Your employer can offer you a job with different job duties at times referred to as ‘light duty’.

Typically, if you cannot return to work, you are eligible for additional workers’ compensation benefits. You may qualify for a vocational training voucher or potentially a pension through permanent and total disability benefits.

If you do qualify for vocational retraining, under Labor Code sections 4658.5, 4658.6 or 4658.7, the team at Dial & Associates can refer you to a one-on-one counselor at a career counseling center that can help you select an occupation that will be appropriate to your skills and physical limitations. Benefits can include:

  • Scholarship programs
  • One-on-One Training
  • Career Development
  • Home Study Courses
  • Job Placement Assistance
  • Small Classes
  • Bilingual Classes

Call Orange County Workers Comp Lawyer Stephen Dial for more information on how Stephen Dial and the team at Dial & Associates can help you through the sometimes very difficult process of filing a workers’ compensation claim in California.

With our help you don’t have to worry about how you will pay for treatment