First, get yourself to safety. Once you have done so, see if you can help others to get out of harm’s way as well. Then, call 911. A police report can be very beneficial towards an eventual personal injury claim.
You’re going to want to get the information of other parties that were involved in the accident. Talk to the other driver and get their name, contact information, and insurance info. While doing so, it’s important that you don’t take any responsibility for what happened. Don’t say “sorry” or something similar, even off-handedly. This may seem like a small thing, but it can be a genuine impediment towards you receiving the compensation you may deserve for the accident.
Once you have spoken to the authorities, the next step is to reach out to a personal injury attorney. The first consultation will be free, so you can know definitively whether or not you have a case.
Even if you don’t believe that you were hurt in an accident, you should still receive medical attention. The truth is that, unfortunately, many of the worst injuries from a vehicular accident are those which may not show up immediately.
Yes, you know to get medical help if you break a limb, have clear bruising or pain in a part of your body, and so forth. However, injuries from whiplash and other internal complications may not make themselves known for some time. The last thing you want is to have settled your personal injury claim only for worse injuries to appear later on. This is one more reason why it’s so important to reach out to medical professionals as early as possible.
It’s understandable if you don’t want to reach out to medical professionals due to a lack of insurance, the potential cost of care, and so forth. However, the right personal injury attorney in Long Beach may be able to help you to receive compensation to cover your medical bills. Additionally, some attorneys have working relationships with medical professionals so that, like the attorney, the medical professionals are paid on contingency. Thus, their compensation would come out of your eventual winnings/settlement, too.
We strongly recommend not speaking to an insurance adjuster or, indeed, anyone else involved with the litigation. It’s entirely possible that someone from the insurance company may reach out to you in the friendliest, most sympathetic manner. That said, it’s also possible that they’re going to try to get you to take an offer that is far less than what your claim could be worth. Or, they may try to get you to make a statement that could potentially lessen or even eradicate any liability on behalf of their client. Due to these factors and others, it’s best not to even speak to the insurance adjuster.
What you can do is tell them to speak to your attorney. Reaching out to a personal injury attorney as early as possible in the process can keep the insurance adjuster from being a concern.
You don’t pay a dime until we win. Another way to put that: on contingency. Should you schedule a free consultation with Belal Hamideh and he decides to take your case, then he will pay all costs that may come about throughout your case. You won’t have to worry about them. Moreover, you won’t have to pay for his legal services during that time, either.
If we win the case, then our payment will come out of your winnings. If we negotiate a settlement with the other side, then our payment will come out of the settlement. Through this, we’re able to help those who may not be able to pay for a legal case themselves. Moreover, it gives us every incentive in the world to work even harder for our clients. We literally don’t get paid for our work unless we win.
You have two years from the injury itself. So, if you were injured in an accident then you have two years from the date of the accident to file a case. By that same token, according to The Judicial Branch of California, “if the injury was not discovered right away, then it is one year from the date the injury was discovered.”
That may sound like a long period of time but it isn’t. Two years can go by sooner than you might think. We always encourage those who have been injured in an accident to reach out to an attorney as quickly as possible. That way, they can know definitively whether or not they have a case.
It’s perfectly understandable to procrastinate when reaching out to a personal injury attorney. However, it’s likely that the other side is already hard at work, putting together an investigation for any potential litigation. Reaching out to a personal injury attorney as quickly as possible after a case gives you the best possible chance to receive the compensation that you deserve.
Workers’ compensation is compensation for injuries that you suffered in the course of doing your job. If you were injured on the job in California, your employer is required, by law, to pay for workers’ compensation. A strong majority of employers in California have workers’ compensation insurance and you can be paid for through those.
You will most likely have to file a workers’ compensation claim. Having a workers’ compensation attorney on your side can help to make this part of the process (as well as the rest of the process) that much easier. Additionally, if your initial claim is denied, a workers’ compensation attorney in Long Beach with experience may be able to help you to receive compensation.
If you are injured while doing your job in California, you are eligible for workers’ compensation. So long as you are hurt while doing your job, you are eligible. Many of the workers compensation claims that we have helped with involve slips and falls at work, something falling upon the worker from a great height, being hurt by a machine, and so forth. Those are workers compensation claims.
By that same token, a vehicular accident, away from the worksite, can also be eligible for workers compensation. If, for example, you are working for your company by picking something up off-site and are injured in an accident, then that very well may be a workers compensation claim as well.
Many of the workers’ compensation claims that we have helped our clients with didn’t happen “all at once,” rather, they developed over time. For example, someone who types day in and day out for a company, over the course of many years, developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, qualifies for workers compensation. That injury wasn’t as immediate as, say, falling down a flight of stairs. But, it was an injury suffered while on the job, so it is eligible for workers’ compensation.
Injuries suffered by independent contractors are a bit of a gray area. While there is “no set definition of the term,” according to the California Department of Industrial Relations, you may still qualify for workers’ compensation. If you are hurt at work, the best course of action is to, after you receive medical care, reach out to a workers’ compensation attorney in Long Beach.
First, make certain that you are out of harm’s way. Then, if possible, make sure that others get to safety as well. Once that has been done, the next step is to report the injury to your employer. Tell your immediate supervisor as quickly as possible. It’s natural to want to wait on this, but it is your best interest to tell your supervisor right away.
The same holds true if your injury was one that developed over time. As soon as you believe that you have been injured through work, report it to your employer.
The truth is that, in California, “if your employer does not learn about your injury within 30 days and this prevents your employer from fully investigating the injury and how you were injured, you could lose your right to receive workers’ compensation benefits,” according to the California Department of Industrial Relations.
Obviously, that’s the last thing we want to have happen. Tell your employer and then go to receive emergency care if necessary. It’s entirely possible that your employer will tell you where to go for treatment. Regardless of whether it’s emergency care, your healthcare provider, or a healthcare provider recommended by your employer, tell them that your injury is related to your job.
The next step after this is to fill out a claim form. A workers’ compensation attorney can help with that or you can file it yourself. If your claim is denied, a workers compensation attorney may be able to help.
There are many different kinds of benefits that you may receive for workers compensation. Medical care is one of the most common forms of workers’ compensation. Essentially, you will receive compensation to help you recover from an injury or sickness that may have been caused by your job. This compensation can cover the time that it takes you to recover as well.
If you are unable to work for a period of time, workers compensation may be able to help with that as well. You may be able to receive temporary disability benefits. So, if you aren’t able to return to doing your job for a period of time, you can receive compensation for that.
Now, with some workers’ compensation injuries, you may not be able to return to the same job, or be able to perform the same job in the same capacity. In that case, you may qualify for supplemental job displacement benefits.
This workers compensation takes the form of vouchers. They can pay for developing new skills or even retraining so that you can return to work in some capacity.
In the event that you have suffered a permanent disability through this injury and cannot recover completely, then you may qualify for permanent disability benefits. Should you pass away from a job injury or illness, then your spouse, children, other dependents/loved ones may be eligible for death benefits.
We offer free consultations here at Belal Hamideh Law. When you sit down with our attorneys, we’ll go over your case and let you know exactly what we think you are entitled to. Should we take your case, we’ll work tirelessly to ensure that you receive everything that you should.
It can be very frustrating to have your workers’ compensation claim denied, especially if you have been hurt, are unable to work, and so forth. However, that does not mean that you are out of luck, or will be unable to receive benefits. Many times over the years, Belal Hamideh and the team here have been able to help clients to receive workers compensation even after their initial claim was rejected.
A workers’ compensation attorney can help with some of the most common reasons that workers’ compensation claims are denied. Some are denied due to disputes about whether the injury is work-related, some due to missing deadlines, and other factors that a professional, experienced attorney can help with.
If your claim has been rejected, we encourage you to schedule a free consultation with us. There, we will go over the particulars of your case. We will tell you exactly what we believe your case is worth and how we will be able to help. In the event that your initial claim was denied, you have nothing to lose by reaching out to an attorney.