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When Should You File a Suit for Civil Damages?

When someone is injured while on the job, they fully expect their employer to come through for them and supply them with any type of assistance that is necessary. Unfortunately, as much as we would all like to believe that our employer will be there for us, it doesn’t always turn out so well. When these situations occur you have to be ready to look out for yourself, even if it means filing for civil damages.

When workers’ compensation isn’t enough to meet your needs, you may be forced to file a separate suit in order to seek both workers’ compensation and civil damages. Civil damages can come in several different forms. Each one is designated to meet a specific need that has not been previously met by a workers’ compensation settlement.

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How Can Medicare Set Asides Affect Your Settlement?

In California, the State Constitution establishes a system of workers’ compensation. This provision empowers the Legislature to enforce liability on all employers that requires them to compensate their employees for injury or disability sustained in the course of their employment. It also requires compensation of dependents of employees for death incurred on the job. These requirements must be met regardless of whether or not the injury or death was, in whole or in part, the fault of the employee.

A Workers Compensation case can involve a number of typical circumstances that will affect the outcome of a settlement. But when an individual is on Medicare, or is planning to be added to the Medicare program within 30 months of the date of a Workers Compensation settlement, or if the settlement is over $250,000, the rules can change significantly. For these individuals, the formation of a Medicare Set Aside must be included as a part of the settlement. Here are some frequently asked questions concerning the program.

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What To Do If You Get Hurt At Work

Each year, millions of people are injured on their job. While many of these injuries are minor in nature, some are much more serious and, in some cases, even life-threatening. Even though Workers Compensation is usually in place for such circumstances, it’s not always sufficient to properly cover every incident.

By following a few simple rules, you can make sure that your injury is taken care of in the best possible manner. Here are a few things you should know in order to be prepared for a workplace injury.

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A Workers’ Compensation Claim May Not Be Your Only Remedy

Work injuries occur daily in California – sometimes they are the result of actions by the injured worker, and sometimes they are caused by hazardous work conditions. But, there are times when these injuries occur due to the actions or negligence of a third party. This poses an interesting question; can you file a claim against a negligent third party for an injury sustained on your job?

Examples of a “third party” might include an individual, a vendor, a contractor, or even a company that supplied defective equipment for your work environment. Negligence due to the actions of a third party can be intentional or unintentional. In either case, the ability to place at least partial blame on the third party must exist in order to have a legitimate claim. Under these circumstances, an injured individual could bring a lawsuit against the third party as long as they can be partially tied to responsibility for the injury.

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What Can I Do With My Settlement Award?

You and your attorney have worked hard for this day to come. Now, all of your hard work and patience have finally paid off. You’ve either won your court case or you’ve reached a settlement. It’s finally all over, right? Not quite. Just because the court decided in your favor doesn’t mean that the judge hands you a check and you pack for Vegas.

Winning a settlement isn’t usually the end of the process. Even though a settlement has been awarded, there are often still obligations that have to be met. There are several steps that have to be taken to ensure that everyone involved in the case, that is entitled to compensation, receives it.

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I Resolve to …

New Year’s resolutions. Many of us make them, but not many of us manage to keep them. They generally have to do with things we feel, if accomplished, would make us a better, or healthier, or more prosperous person. We resolve to lose weight, or stop smoking, or to start working out or running, or to simply try to be a nicer human being.

These are all laudable and worthwhile objectives, and we encourage everyone to do your best to achieve whatever goals you’ve resolved to reach in 2012. But, we have a couple of items we’d like to suggest that you add to your list. They’re not traditional New Year’s resolutions, but we think they would be worth your time and effort, and might save you, or a loved one, or even a total stranger from harm and/or liability in the coming months and years.

Make a List … or Several

• Have all your vehicles checked thoroughly for potential safety issues. This means your cars, motorcycles, motor homes, watercraft, camping trailers, bicycles, even your skateboard. Check them all to be sure that wheels, brakes, lights – anything that could cause an accident, should it malfunction – are in good working order.

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Ensure Your Best Possible Recovery ~

It can certainly be a life-altering event, and the first thing you should know about spinal cord injury is that it does not always present symptoms immediately after sustaining damage. If you suffer a head, neck, or back injury, even if you feel that it’s minor, get the opinion of a qualified health care professional immediately. If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury, you should know what steps to take to ensure that you’ll receive the best medical care and rehabilitation efforts.

All brain injuries and injuries to the spinal cord are potentially dangerous. They can cause excruciating pain, take away your freedom of movement, speech, or hearing, and can even result in death. If you suffer an injury to the spinal cord due to an accident, on the job or elsewhere, you’ll not only need excellent medical attention but also the counsel of a skilled personal injury attorney. More often than not, there will be an intimidating maze of legalities that must be dealt with before you can get on with treatment and recovery.

Things to Keep in Mind

After you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a spinal cord injury, take the following steps to ensure that you won’t be left without help and without the means to ensure your best possible recovery.

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As another step in their efforts to encourage workplace safety and educate employers and employees about the dangers of extreme heat exposure and heat-related illness, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) have developed and released a free mobile application which enables employers, supervisors, and workers to monitor their worksite’s heat index, thus allowing them to take the necessary preventative measures against suffering heat-related illnesses.

Summertime heat can be very dangerous for outdoor workers. According to OSHA, roofers, farm workers, construction workers, air transportation workers, and landscapers suffer the highest rates of heat-illness.

The heat index app combines data from the U.S National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with the worker’s location to determine proper safety measures, such as adjusting work operations, taking rest breaks, and drinking fluids. The app also provides workers with valuable information concerning the signs and symptoms of heat-related illness, such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion. With this, workers can monitor their current health condition.

There are specific regulations to ensure workplace safety in California, even for heat illness. According to the California Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), employers are required to take the following four steps in order to prevent heat-related illness:

1. Train all employees and supervisors about heat-related illness prevention.
2. Provide a sufficient amount of fresh water so that each employee can drink at least one quart per hour AND encourage every employee to do so.
3. Provide shade access and encourage employees to take a rest in the shade for at least five minutes to cool down. Employees should not wait until they feel sick to cool down.
4. Develop and institute written procedures for complying with the Heat Illness Prevention Standard, as established by Cal/OSHA.

If you or a loved one has suffered a heat-related illness at a San Fernando Valley workplace as the result of negligence on the part of a supervisor, contractor, or other employee, you may be entitled to financial compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and other losses. To learn more about your legal rights, contact one of the experienced North Hollywood on-the-job injury attorneys at The Mandell Law Firm at 818-886-6600.