California Workers Compensation Laws: What’s Changed In The Past 5 Years

In the annals of California, Washington, and Colorado employment history, 2020 will be the year to remember for more than one reason. All three states have seen Worker compensation rates go up. But in California, new employment laws were enacted, which directly changed employment practices by reclassifying independent contractors as employees.

The reclassification of independent contractors to employees empowers workers in more than one way. If you live in California, there are several employee benefits you can now receive. One of the most significant ones is being considered an employee gives you inalienable legal rights if you’re ever hurt on the job.

However, working through the workers compensation online forms or in-person bureaucratic process can still be an intense experience. Please read on if you’d like to learn more about California Workers Compensation law and what’s changed in the past few years. 

Workers Compensation

You can take steps that provide you with beneficial options when you file for Workers Compensation. No one wants to file for Workers Compensation because that means you’ve been injured and are suffering from pain or have become disabled. There are times when a work injury has resulted in a death within your family.

In California, Washington, and Colorado, filing for Workers Compensation can be difficult and onerous. That’s why once you suffer an injury while working, it’s vital that you understand your legal rights. It would be best if you also ascertained your medical, physical, and therapeutic needs as you go down the path of recovery.

While going down that path, you want to get the settlement you and your family deserve and need to recover fully. In California, workers’ compensation becomes more challenging to file because of the complicated application process. That’s why it’s beneficial to have a legal expert and professional helping you every step of the way

Personal Injury Attorney

Personal injury attorneys are needed in California, Washington, and Colorado. But in California, the workers compensation laws have changed significantly in the last five years. One of the most significant changes has been that workers compensation insurance rates have gone down substantially in California employers’ previous five years.

Workers insurance costs went through eight reductions between 2015-2018, and all had been approved by the California Insurance Commissioner. Personal injury attorneys will tell you that in conjunction with Workers Compensation Insurance rates going down, there’s a rising cost associated with administering workers compensation Cost changes to assist workers compensation have gone up. Still, most of the time, injured workers are getting less if they have to make a workers compensation claim.

Having a personal injury attorney allows injured workers to successfully navigate some of these changes, including challenging California’s workers compensation system. It gives injured workers a way to fight against some of the rampant fraud and labor law violations many medical providers and even some workers commit each year. 

Accident Attorney

Accident attorneys and personal injury attorneys are legally under one umbrella because they usually work the same type of legal cases. They help represent some of the workers that are part of some sobering statistics. The statistics revolve around the changes impacting the growth rate of workplace injuries in California, Washington, and Colorado.

According to the Judicial Council of California, in 2017, there were over 700,000 civil cases filed for personal injury complaints. In 2018, in Washington 2.4 out of every 100,000 full-time workers died due to an occupational injury. In Colorado, there are over 30,000 workers’ compensation claims filed.

Most of the time, if you don’t have an accident attorney, it will be independent parties and agencies that will take a lot out of workers’ compensation settlements. That leaves little money that goes to the injured or debilitated worker to begin their recovery.

Wrongful Death Attorney

California recently passed Assembly Bill (AB51)which attempts to prevent employers from making their employees settle workers compensation claims through the use of forced arbitration. The result was that it does make California a more challenging terrain to navigate the workers compensation application and claim process successfully, but it does make it more legally just. California, Washington, and Colorado have almost identical parties that can file wrongful death suits.

Wrongful death attorneys can help the surviving spouse, financial dependents, parents, domestic partners, personal representative, or children of the deceased file a wrongful death suit. Wrongful death attorneys are almost always essential when a worker’s death occurred due to the negligence or misconduct of someone. Most of the time, employees’ wrongful death involves toxic substances, product malfunctions, negligence of safety standards, and many other similar-type wrongdoings of employers.

Steps to Take to File Your Workers Compensation Claim 

Now you know just how challenging it’s going to be when you file your workers compensation claim. In California, it will be even more complicated due to some recent changes in California law. In 2020 employers are also having to worry about their employees who get COVID 19. 

There a new law that requires California employers to carry workers compensation insurance if they have even one employee ill because they have COVID 19 it’s even a more complex workers compensation process. There are many steps that workers need to take to file workers compensation claims.

Workers’ compensation claims have to be filed in the right way, at the right time, with the correct facts. Many times workers may be surprised by not being awarded anything or less than what they need.

What’s Your Next Step?

Every worker’s compensation claim for benefits has a deadline based on when you were injured or suffered an illness due to your working conditions. Every day that passes is a day closer to you not being able to file for workers compensation at all. If you want to find out, learn more, or already know that you need to file for workers compensation, reach out to Sweet Lawyers.

Sweet Lawyers wants to help you ensure the health and wellness of your future. But you need to take the first step by giving them a call or click over today to begin your healing process.