Van Nuys Workers Compensation Defense Attorney

As an employer, you no doubt respect and appreciate your employees and want them to have any and all benefits to which they are entitled, including benefits under your company’s workers compensation insurance coverage. Workers’ compensation costs are a burden on your bottom line, but they are also a necessary part of doing business—and one that is required by law in the state of California. However, as an employer, if it is your belief that your employee’s injuries were not your fault, then you have a right to defend yourself against the employee’s claim. A workers compensation defense attorney can help.

Defense Against Workers Compensation Claims

There are a number of reasons that an injured worker’s claim may be indefensible. Some of the most common among them:

• The employee filed the claim after the statute of limitations ran out. In other than a few very narrow exceptions, California workers compensation claimants have just one year from the date of work-related injuries or illnesses to submit their claims. Workers may have slightly more time if their claims center around an occupational disease such as toxic or chemical exposure.
• The employee was injured, but not on the job. In order for employees to collect benefits from workers’ compensation, the injury in question must be job-related. If an employee sustains an injury off the clock or not during the course of job-related activities, then the claim is invalid.
• Willful negligence caused the employee’s injury. Employers are required by law to provide workers compensation injury, but employees are duty-bound to avoid reckless behavior, horseplay, and other conduct that might result in injury. This includes alcohol/drug intoxication.
• The employee’s injury was intentional. Most workers’ compensation claims are valid, but there is always an exception to this rule. It is not unheard of for claimants to undergo self-inflicted injuries in order to collect benefits.
• An idiopathic medical problem caused the employee’s injury. Conditions such as heart attack, seizure, and stroke occur without notice, and sometimes they happen in the workplace, resulting in or exacerbating workplace injuries. However, if there is evidence that the employee’s medical problem was not caused by the job itself, then the injury resulting from the condition cannot be classified as a work-related injury.

The role that worker’s compensation insurance plays in the California workplace cannot be overstated. Not only is it important to the employee, but it also protects the employer by providing compensation for injured employees that does not come straight out of the employer’s pocket. Moreover, employers who do not provide this valuable insurance to their workers may face substantial civil penalties while opening themselves up to potential liability if a worker sustains a job-related injury and files a claim for damages. Still, invalid or fraud-based worker’s comp claims drive up worker’s compensation insurance costs, and nobody benefits from that.

Legal Help for Employers

When it comes to defending your company against erroneous or even fraudulent workers compensation claims, reach out to an experienced Van Nuys workers compensation attorney with Sacks & Zolonz, LLP, right away. You can contact us for a consultation of your case by clicking here or calling 310-216-7778.