According to the California Department of Industrial Relations, if you are the victim of a personal injury on the job, whether caused by someone else or through personal negligence, you have the right to seek medical care or file a claim if your employer defaults on workers’ compensation insurance.
Let us remember that the latter is a mandatory policy that must be complied with by any company or company that has one or more employees within its corporate organization. However, it must be taken into account that this document is only to provide you with hospital or clinical assistance in the event that you suffer a personal injury or accident during the work day, so it does not cover other types of damages, suffering or punishments in form of a fine, both inside and outside the place where he conducts his professional life.
Where should I go after an accident at work?
First, talk to your employer. Specify if it is an accident where the damage was minor, and state if you need medical attention or wish to visit a health specialist to evaluate your body.
Once you have received a detailed medical report, assess the options offered by the company you work for or your employer, and if they are satisfactory to make your recovery successful. If you are not satisfied, discuss it and propose viable solutions that are consistent with the context in which you live. If necessary, contact an attorney or law firm before negotiating your compensation if you do not have such a policy or insurance.
If a work-related injury, whatever its nature, has caused permanent damage to your body or someone you love, the most important thing is that they receive emergency medical care until they are out of danger.
In the event that the employer refuses this, or does not provide you with worker’s compensation insurance from the first day you are hired, you can take legal action, as we have already mentioned, so that this is covered, including, the wages that lost after the incident.
How do I make my claim if I do not receive workers’ compensation?
The most competent, would be through the following steps:
-Fill out the claim form offered by the California State Workers’ Compensation Division, in case your employer or the company you work for does not offer it.
-Complete the section that refers only to the employee and send it as soon as possible to the person who hired you or to the human resources department (if the company that hired you has one) via email or, in the office indicated .
-Ask for an acknowledgment of receipt of the email sent (if this is the case, ) for a record of dates, this in case a misunderstanding occurs. If you are going to deliver the document in person, have a photocopy of it before you do this.
What happens next, if my employer has completed the previous steps so that I can access my workers’ compensation?
In general, the person in charge of these matters within the company or business continues the procedure by filling out the section that corresponds to the employer within the document.
Once this is done, the responsible person will send the form to the insurer that supports it, and you will receive a copy of the aforementioned petition to validate that the process to receive your workers’ compensation is still ongoing.
In general, the insurer has a period of 14 days to inform you about the status of your request via traditional mail or email. If this does not happen, you have the right to contact them to find out about your request in progress.
On the other hand, if your employer did not fill out the application completely for whatever reasons or motives you have for doing so, you can demand it at any time after the accident or turn it into a local law enforcement complaint, since California labor laws they protect him.
