In this video, we will ask, “What are examples of compensation when you’re injured on the job in California?” My name is Matt Eason. I’ve been practicing workers’ compensation and personal injury law for over 25 years. In this video, we will address the primary forms or examples of compensation you can expect in California’s workers’ compensation system.
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Under California’s workers’ compensation system, there are four basic types of benefits that you’re entitled to as compensation if you suffer an on-the-job injury.
The first type of compensation you’re entitled to under the California workers’ compensation system is better characterized as a benefit than compensation. That benefit you are entitled to is all of your medical care reasonably necessary for your injury. It is described as a benefit instead of compensation because you do not pay for your care in workers’ compensation upfront. The employer has to pay for that care directly as a benefit. That’s different than in the personal injury world, where you have to seek your medical care and compensation for that care after the fact to get reimbursed.
The second type of compensation we usually address in the workers’ compensation system involves temporary disability benefits. You’re entitled to temporary disability benefits if you’re off work for three or more days. In some situations, you’re entitled to temporary disability benefits right away. Historically, those benefits are 2/3 of your average weekly earnings until you can return to work, whether whole duty or modified duty. Unfortunately, there is a time limit when those benefits run out, usually 104 cumulative weeks. If you get to the end of 104 cumulative weeks, then Social Security or a different type of state benefit often kicks in.
The third benefit we discuss in workers’ compensation is generally referred to as permanent disability benefits. Permanent disability benefits are a calculation of your overall disability using objective factors such as lifting, bending, stooping, ten minutes, ten points, sometimes, always, never. Those types of factors go into a formula that then determines your rating. That rating gives another formula for determining the benefits you are entitled to for your permanent disability. Unfortunately, one of the things you didn’t hear in that calculation was pain and suffering. With rare exceptions, workers’ compensation doesn’t consider pain and suffering for most disability ratings.
The last standard compensation we deal with is workers’ compensation claims concerning vocational rehabilitation rights. Suppose you find yourself in a situation where your lifelong limitations are such that you cannot return to your prior occupation. Then, in that case, there’s a vocational voucher that you may be entitled to that helps you towards retraining or finding a new job.
So again, the four basic types of compensation you’re entitled to in the workers’ compensation system are medical care, temporary disability, permanent disability, and vocational rehabilitation. There are other situations in which you might be entitled to benefits when your employer’s grave and willful misconduct caused the injury. A penalty might apply, so you should speak to an attorney. If you’ve been discriminated against, you may have what is known as a 132A violation, named after a Labor Code.
Suppose you have questions about your workers’ compensation benefits rights here in California. Please consider contacting me or one of our firm’s other workers’ compensation attorneys. My name again was Matt Eason. The firm’s name is Eason & Tambornini.
