Frequently Asked Questions

I handle a range of cases involving personal injury and workers’ compensation. These include but are not limited to car accidents, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and fall accidents, product liability, dog bites, and wrongful deaths, among others.

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.

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.

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 in your best interest to tell your supervisor right away.

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 worker's 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.

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 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.”

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.

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.