At Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Fremont, we provide strong representation for victims injured while at work. This can include employees who must miss work due to a head injury, including a scary Traumatic Brain Injury. We demand the maximum in recovery support for victims from Workers’ Compensation and make sure employers are held accountable. Contact a skilled personal injury lawyer and schedule a free consultation.
Do I Need a Lawyer for My Workers’ Compensation Claim?
You don’t have to have a lawyer to file a Workers’ Compensation claim. With a relatively minor head injury or mild concussion that only results in a few days missed at work and no long-term effects, you may be able to earn fair treatment and fair compensation on your own.
However, serious head and brain trauma can often result in longterm or lifelong effects. When serious health issues, longer recoveries, and higher medical costs are involved, turning your case over to a Fremont Workers’ Compensation Lawyer may earn you much more for your claim. Your lawyer may also be a valuable safeguard for your best interests.
These are just a few of the potential advantages a skilled lawyer can give you:
- Earn More in Compensation: Your lawyer will have the experience needed to know what you should earn for your brain injury and how to force insurers to provide everything you’ll need to recover physically and financially.
- Investigate Your Accident and Your Employer: Your attorney gathers all evidence and builds a strong case to keep your employer from changing the facts.
- Strong Defense: A Lawyer can also defend you when your employer and your employer’s Workers’ Comp Insurance providers try to cast doubt on how you were injured and the severity of your injuries.
- Represent You Before Workers’ Comp Administrators: A lawyer makes sure a Workers’ Compensation Judge hears the full story of how you were injured. Your lawyer argues to get the employer to accept 100% of the blame and liability.
- Protect You from Retaliation or Job Loss: Employers who threaten injured workers or fire them simply because they can’t work will face strong legal action. Our lawyers act as your shields against this type of unlawful conduct.
The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) explains that you should speak to a lawyer if you believe your employer or the employer’s insurance provider is treating you unfairly. Suffering a permanent disability due to a work accident is another reason to turn your case over to an attorney. Your attorney would secure evidence and back your case with strong medical testimony.
Brain Injury Dangers in Fremont Workplaces
Fremont workers deserve safe work environments and that includes protection from dangerous head injuries. Employees can take falls off of unsafe platforms or stairwells to fracture their skulls. They can be hit by an object falling overhead to suffer brain bleeding. Farm workers may be hit by a swinging part on a piece of machinery.
Workers might be behind the wheel of a work vehicle when they are struck by another car. They might be walking when they are struck by a work vehicle to endure a serious concussion.
These and other hazards can lead to a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). TBI is a term for a blow to the head that affects brain function, according to UCLA Health. A concussion is considered a mild form of TBI.
The CDC reports that head injuries in the workplace are common for people in certain professions. Those include miners and loggers, factory workers, professional drivers, agricultural workers, and construction workers.
These are just some of the types of injuries they may be treated for at Fremont Medical Center:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries: Serious TBIs might lead to seizures, memory loss, and confusion. Victims might miss weeks of work. People with serious brain trauma can have issues with coordination.
- Concussions: This is a type of TBI. Concussions can end up serious if victims aren’t treated quickly and correctly. Victims may experience nausea, blurry vision, mood swings, and trouble sleeping.
- Skull fractures: These injuries can push pieces of the skull into the brain. Bleeding on the brain is sometimes a result. Pressure may have to be relieved through surgery.
- Diffuse axonal injury: When nerve fibers in the brain are stretched or torn. This can result in a high-speed impact.
- Hypoxic and anoxic brain injury: When oxygen is cut off from the brain.
The effects of a brain injury might be easy to spot. However, some effects will build up over time and not be notable until days or weeks later. Victims need help proving the severity and scope of a head injury and how an employer was responsible.
A Fremont Workers’ Compensation Attorney steps in to handle the investigative phase and files a strong case with The California Division of Workers’ Compensation. The frustrating process is taken care of with as little disruption to the victim and the victim’s family as possible.
Support for Fremont Workers with Head Injuries
Your attorney builds a case that shows how your employer left you vulnerable to hazardous head injury risks. Then a list of every hardship you have endured and will endure is created.
It should explain and document the damages that you need assistance with.
This is a look at the support to secure through a Workers’ Compensation Claim:
- Reimbursement for all past medical care costs
- Reimbursement for the estimates on the care you may need in the years ahead
- Lifelong support if you develop a permanent physical or mental disability
- Financial support to help you find a new profession if you can’t return to your previous job
- Death benefits for family members if a victim tragically dies due to a head injury
The DIR Injured Worker’s Handbook contains further information on the support victims can expect to receive through Workers’ Comp.
Can I Sue My Employer After a Head Injury at Work?
Generally, California’s Workers’ Compensation doesn’t cover the physical pain victims experience or the mental trauma a frightening accident and difficult recovery might cause.
In some cases, a lawsuit might be necessary to gather support beyond Workers’ Comp. An employer could be sued if they were grossly negligent in their failure to keep victims safe. When employers know of a risk to employees’ health and don’t notify them, they can be liable through a lawsuit.
A lack of even basic safety protocols, such as providing helmets and making sure employees know when and where to wear them, may be enough to allow a worker to secure more by taking a business to court.
How Can I Afford to Pay a Fremont Head Injuries Workers’ Compensation Lawyer?
You don’t need to have any savings to afford powerful legal representation. If you need our help earning what’s fair, we don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our pay comes out of the check Workers’ Comp must award you.
After winning your case, your lawyer receives a percentage of the check Workers’ Comp provides. The lawyer may receive anywhere from around 10% up to around 15% depending on the case. One factor determining what a lawyer will charge is how complex a Workers’ Compensation case is.
A Workers’ Compensation judge adds a layer of protection for TBI victims. The judge is required to examine the fee the lawyer is charging to make sure it’s fair. They must approve what the lawyer is to be paid upon case success.
Potential clients should always know what they’ll be paying for legal representation. If they don’t, they should ask. If it’s still unclear it may be a sign that a victim may need to find a different law firm to work with.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I tell my supervisor about my injury?
As soon as possible. Let your employer know the day you get injured. Waiting more than a month to alert your manager about your injury may cancel out your ability to seek Workers’ Compensation help.
How long do I have to file a California Workers’ Compensation injury claim?
Victims should alert their employers immediately after an injury is suffered. Then victims must work with their employers to file a Workers’ Comp claim within a year from the date of the injury. The one-year deadline might be assessed from the day the worker learns of an illness or injury.
Can a Workers’ Comp Lawyer Help Me If I’m a Union Member?
Yes. Injured Union members still receive Workers’ Comp benefits, and a skilled lawyer can also help them secure more in a settlement with an employers’ Workers’ Compensation insurer. Union members also receive additional benefits through their labor agreements. A lawyer can help make sure they receive certain benefits such as full wage reimbursement, longer medical coverage for an injury, and strong job protections.
Can I Seek Help After a Head Injury If I’m an Undocumented Worker?
Yes. California Workers’ Compensation is available to all workers. Undocumented workers can still be covered. Their immigration status does not matter. A Fremont Workers’ Compensation Attorney will work to get those workers full benefits. Our lawyers also take quick legal action if employers try to intimidate or threaten a worker for reporting an injury. This behavior is illegal.
Contact a Fremont Workers’ Compensation Traumatic Brain Injury Accident Attorney
Contact Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Fremont to schedule a free, confidential consultation with a real Fremont Workers’ Compensation Lawyer. We want to hear what happened to you and work on a plan to earn you the support you need.
We’re going to answer your questions and make sure you are prepared for the tactics you’ll face so you don’t forfeit valuable support. You’ll know what your head trauma is worth before an insurance adjuster tries to convince you it’s worth nothing at all.
Keep in mind, that you don’t have any savings to afford powerful legal representation. If you need our help earning what’s fair, we don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our pay comes out of the check Workers’ Comp provides to you.