According to the California Department of Insurance, workers compensation covers:
“… medical care, temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits, supplemental job displacement benefits, and death benefits. Injured workers may be entitled to one or more of these benefits.”
If you believe your circumstances warrant it, consulting an experienced workers compensation lawyer can prove beneficial. Many have successfully navigated the process with the guidance of Belal Hamideh. To arrange a complimentary case review, simply ping us on this site or give us a call.
In order to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits, it’s essential to be an officially recognized employee. Most often, independent contractors, volunteers, and freelancers don’t qualify for these benefits according to California law. However, certain circumstances might allow for exceptions.
It’s worth knowing that there can be cases of misclassification, where employers wrongly label their employees as independent contractors – California has thorough criteria to identify the factual employment status.
An employee’s workers compensation absence and FMLA leave entitlement can run at the same time. This means that while the employee is receiving workers’ compensation benefits to make up for lost wages, their job and health benefits are protected under the FMLA. The time an employee spends off work recuperating and receiving workers’ comp benefits is also being deducted from the mandated 12-week unpaid, job-protected leave provided by the FMLA.
In the event that both workers’ compensation and FMLA laws apply, it’s the duty of the employer to classify the leave as FMLA-qualifying (if applicable) and inform the employee of this situation. However, even if the employer fails to do this, the employee may still be eligible for FMLA leave after their workers’ compensation absence has ended. In certain cases, if an employee requires additional workers’ compensation medical leave after using up their FMLA leave, additional provisions may apply as a “reasonable accommodation” under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.
According to the regulations of California, sustaining an injury at your workplace entitles you to a compensation equivalent to two-thirds of your gross income before tax. An upper limit on this compensation amount is set by the state, too.
To calculate your usual weekly earnings, divide your annual salary by the total number of weeks in a year (i.e., 52). For example, an annual income of $104,000 factors into a weekly wage of $2,000. By the principle of the state law, the maximum remuneration you could receive would be $1333.32, constituting two-thirds of your gross income before tax.
In the state of California, workers’ compensation is public record. However, while everyone can request information about a case, record coordinators do have the right to be able to deny a request. Specifically, they’re able to do so should releasing the information be a violation of federal or California laws regarding privacy.
Someone can access the records should they be a party to the claim, from the office of the district attorney, a member of a law enforcement agency, or have a journalistic purpose.
An experienced worker’s compensation attorney, Belal Hamideh can protect your rights in many ways. For a free case evaluation, message him through our site or call.
Typically, workers’ compensation benefits are not taxed. This is because these payouts are sourced from taxpayer funds, and taxing once more would only pull back what was given out – an ineffective practice, to put it mildly.
The benefits you receive are exempt from tax under both state and federal law.
This holds true for temporary disability benefits meant to compensate for lost income during recovery, permanent disability intended to cover future wage losses due to job-related injuries, death benefits for dependents of workers who pass away from work-related accidents or for medical expenses incurred due to the injury.
Worker’s compensation is typically not subject to tax. After all, the system in place to disburse these benefits is funded by taxpayers, and taxing these benefits would essentially retract what has already been paid out – that would be inefficient, to say the very least.
The benefits you receive are all exempt under both state and federal law.
That’s true whether these benefits are for temporary disability to cover loss of income during recovery, permanent disability to address a future wage loss due to impairment resulting from a workplace accident, death benefits for dependents of a worker who died from a job-related accident, or for medical expenses related to the injury.
Dangerous Falls: Construction sites frequently encounter accidents due to falls, primarily caused by factors like faulty railings, unstable ladders, improper scaffolding, and numerous other hazards.
Deficient warning signs: Construction sites are teeming with dangerous areas, like pits, trenches, and more. There needs to be more signage in these areas to avoid harm to construction employees and pedestrians.
Shortage or Misuse of Safety Gear: The absence or misuse of safety equipment such as helmets, gloves, and goggles frequently results in serious injuries, affecting not just the workers but also the visitors and others at the site.
Belal Hamideh, an experienced construction accident attorney, has helped many clients who were injured in a wide variety of ways. On a construction site, these can include:
Falls: Regular incidents at construction sites stem from falls, owing to several elements such as defective railings, unstable ladders, improper scaffolding, and many other hazards.
Electrocution: With a large number of electrical equipment present in construction zones, electrocution injuries are widespread. Power tools, faulty electric wiring, and lighting pose significant threats that could injure a worker or bystander at any time.
In this context, “truck” almost invariably refers to an 18-wheeler, a big rig, a semi-truck, and not, say, a passenger truck (such as a Ford, Chevy, etc.) These cases can be particularly challenging as they involve vehicles that are so much bigger than not just pedestrians but even typical domestic vehicles.
These accidents can lead to devastating injuries. Multiple parties can be involved. If you or someone you love were injured in an accident involving a truck, it’s worth it to reach out to an experienced truck accident lawyer for a free case evaluation. Belal Hamideh can help.
A construction accident ends in injury and/or property destruction on a construction site. Injuries can be sustained by construction workers or passers-by. They can be attributed to a myriad of reasons such as negligence, insufficient safety precautions, deficient training, equipment malfunction, human error, and other factors.
Construction accidents can cause damage of property and personal injuries, as they often occur during efforts to construct, enhance, repair, demolish, or clean particular facilities. Unfortunately, they may result in severe injury or significant destruction to property or individuals.
Types of construction accidents encompass building failures, trench accidents, ladder mishaps, scaffold incidents, electric shocks, explosions, welding-related injuries, crane malfunctions, forklift breakdowns, subpar work equipment, and traffic accidents.
Firstly, get medical help straight away. Even if you feel fine and believe you can continue working, some injuries can be internal and may not manifest immediately. Hence, immediate medical attention is the best strategy.
Secondly, report the incident to your employer. It’s the right thing to do and won’t be seen as evading responsibilities.
Instead of being “vs” each other, medical malpractice is a form of personal injury.
Both personal injury and medical malpractice laws are in place to rectify a civil wrong when an individual experiences harm that they didn’t cause.
There are similarities, such as both involve obtaining justice via the civil court system for an individual who has endured harm due to the actions or lack of action of another.
The kind of justice sought comes in the form of monetary restitution for the economic and non-economic damages the aggrieved party has endured. Speaking of the latter, “non-economic damages” are those that are harder to measure, such as anguish, suffering, loss of companionship, and diminished enjoyment of life, among others.
Every driver must operate their vehicles responsibly when on the road. When this obligation, this “duty of care,” is broken due to carelessness or irresponsibility, the injured victim should receive not just medical help but legal assistance. A personal injury lawyer can adeptly navigate the complexities of such situations, helping you to receive the compensation you deserve.
This is true for not just crashes involving cars, but also those involving semi-trucks. These are some of the most dangerous accidents, involving massive vehicles. The right attorney should be equipped to ascertain who is to blame for your incident and initiate a lawsuit against the parties involved.
A pedestrian accident is defined as an incident where a vehicle collides with an individual on foot. Such accidents can lead to significant hazards, as emphasized by the CDC which reports approximately one-third of all traffic-related fatalities are pedestrians.
These pedestrian accidents can occur anytime – morning, noon, or night. Although there might be a minor increase in occurrences at night, the disparity is unremarkable. These accidents particularly pose a threat to children and older individuals.
