You may be entitled to compensation if you’ve recently suffered an injury while working in Orange County, California. The experienced Orange County workplace injury lawyers at Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian can help you explore your legal options and work toward a meaningful financial recovery.
Since 1990, our personal injury law firm has been a leading advocate for injured workers and families across Orange County. We’re award-winning trial attorneys with a proven ability to take on tough cases and win big for our clients. Since our founding, we’ve recovered over $1 billion in settlements and jury awards.
We can help to make a genuine difference in your life by fighting to get you the compensation you deserve. Call our Orange County, CA law office in Newport Beach at (949) 831-6611 to learn more. Your first consultation is free.
Why Choose Us for Your Work Injury Case
- We have spent over 30 years representing clients in personal injury cases in Orange County and throughout California. Our lawyers have the experience that you need.
- Our law firm has a long track record of success in terms of positive case results, but more importantly, a reputation of excellence among peers and past clients.
- Our Orange County workplace injury attorneys operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning you won’t pay us a cent in attorney’s fees unless you win your case.
We Handle All Types of Workplace Injury Cases in Orange County, CA
In 2021, 2.6 million American workers suffered nonfatal injuries on the job. Thousands more died as a result of their catastrophic trauma. California tends to rank toward the top when it comes to workplace-related injuries and deaths.
Every year, many Orange County workers are injured as a result of:
- Construction accidents
- Warehouse accidents
- Healthcare accidents
- Transportation accidents
- Commercial fishing accidents
- Maritime accidents
- Aviation accidents
- Restaurant accidents
- Industrial accidents
- Fall accidents
Workers tend to suffer a wide range of injuries, including:
- Traumatic brain injury
- Spinal cord injury
- Crushing injury
- Amputation
- Nerve damage
- Burns
- Broken bones
- Repetitive motion injury
- Catastrophic injury
At Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian, we have 75+ years of experience advocating for injured workers who have sustained serious and debilitating trauma on the job.
How a Work Injury Lawyer in Orange County Can Help
If you get injured on the job in Orange County, it can be difficult to know how to protect your rights as a worker. The State of California has some of the best employment laws and worker protections in the country. However, insurance companies put their profits first and can make it difficult for workers to obtain the compensation they deserve for serious injuries. Injured workers need to understand how the recovery process works and what to expect from insurance claims adjusters to get the most out of their claims.
A work injury attorney in Orange County can help you in many ways during the legal process, such as:
- Reviewing your legal options and recommending the best way forward.
- Thoroughly investigating your workplace accident.
- Collecting evidence of fault, causation or negligence.
- Explaining California’s workers’ compensation laws and filing your claim for you.
- Negotiating for a fair and full workers’ comp settlement on your behalf.
- Assisting you with an appeal if your workers’ comp claim gets rejected or denied.
- Representing you during a work injury trial in Orange County, if necessary.
During your work injury case, you can trust your lawyer to provide personalized legal advice and counsel that makes it easier to move forward during this difficult time. While your employer and their insurance provider may try to take advantage of you, your lawyer will want you to achieve the best possible results for your future. Hire an attorney from Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian to get the most out of your claim.
How Do I Recover Compensation For a Workplace Injury in Orange County?
Most employees in Orange County, CA are covered by workers’ compensation benefits. If you’re an employee who gets hurt while performing work-related duties, then you’ll generally qualify for benefits to cover the costs of your medical treatment and a portion of your lost wages and disability.
California’s workers’ compensation system requires all businesses in the state that have employees to maintain special insurance policies to cover injured employees’ medical bills and lost wages after on-the-job accidents. Workers’ compensation benefits are available regardless of fault, but you will give up the right to sue your employer. If your employer’s negligence caused your injury, therefore, a workers’ comp claim might not be the right choice for you.
If you aren’t covered by workers’ compensation – or if a negligent third party caused your workplace injury – you can pursue compensation through a civil personal injury lawsuit. This can allow you to recover compensation for medical expenses, lost income, disability, out-of-pocket costs, and things like pain and suffering. When pursuing a claim against a third party (not your employer), you may qualify for benefits through both workers’ comp and a lawsuit.
Our experienced workplace injury attorneys in Orange County will help you explore your legal options and work to recover maximum compensation through all available channels.
What Types of Benefits Are Available Through Workers’ Comp?
Workers’ compensation is the default way for injured workers to receive financial benefits for their medical bills and other losses. Workers’ comp does not require evidence that an employer or someone else was negligent or that this caused the worker’s injury. Benefits can be made available regardless of the cause of the accident. Under California’s workers’ compensation laws, an injured worker may be entitled to the following benefits:
- Medical treatment: the full costs of all medical treatment reasonably required to allow a victim to recover from a work-related injury or illness. Covered medical expenses include doctor’s appointments, hospital stays, surgeries, prescription medications, physical therapy and rehabilitation.
- Temporary disability: if the worker suffered a temporary or short-term disability, he or she may receive temporary disability benefits that reimburse a portion of the victim’s lost wages (about two-thirds) until he or she recovers and can return to work.
- Permanent disability: if the worker sustains a permanent disability or impairment, these benefits can compensate the victim for long-term or lifelong limitations on the ability to work and earn a living.
- Supplemental job displacement: benefits that can help a worker obtain necessary training or education for a different job if a victim’s employer does not offer alternative work options that he or she can perform with a permanent partial disability.
- Death benefits: if a victim dies due to a work-related injury or illness, his or her surviving loved ones may be eligible for death benefits, including coverage for reasonable funeral and burial costs. Our wrongful death attorneys in Orange County are equipped to handle such claims.
Additional types of workers’ compensation benefits in California can include vocational rehabilitation payment, mileage and transportation costs for medical care, and any required home health care or nursing aides. A work injury attorney in Orange County can help you understand the financial benefits that may be available through an insurance claim after your workplace injury.
What if My Workers’ Comp Claim Gets Denied?
If you submit a workers’ compensation claim with an insurance company only to receive notification of a denial, do not give up hope. Insurance companies will frequently choose to deny claims based on minor issues that can be remedied or – in cases involving insurance bad faith – no valid reason at all.
If your workers’ compensation claim gets denied, bring your case to a personal injury lawyer at Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian. We will review the facts and carefully read the denial letter to determine the source of the issue. Common reasons for claim denials are insufficient proof of injury, allegations that the injury was not work-related and incomplete claim forms.
Once we understand the cause of the denial, we can help you with an appeal. Injured workers can go before the workers’ compensation appeals board to argue the reasons why they believe a claim should not have been denied. An attorney can represent you during this process to improve the odds of successfully appealing a workers’ comp claim denial.
Should I File a Personal Injury Lawsuit Instead?
Only an attorney can answer this question, and only after reviewing your particular case and circumstances. If there is evidence that one or more parties were negligent in connection to your workplace accident, such as an employer or coworker, greater financial compensation may be available by filing a personal injury lawsuit. For example, a personal injury case can pay you for pain and suffering and 100 percent of your lost wages, rather than two-thirds.
Once you accept a workers’ compensation settlement, you can no longer sue your employer for negligence. This is why it is important to consult with an attorney before accepting an offer from an insurance company. However, if someone other than your employer is responsible for causing your injuries (e.g., the manufacturer of a defective piece of equipment), then you may have the right to file both types of claims.
An attorney can help you establish fault in a personal injury lawsuit as well as complete a workers’ compensation claim, if applicable. Your lawyer will help you seek maximum financial recovery through all available sources and defendants. If you need to establish negligence, your lawyer can collect evidence to support a claim against one or more parties, such as accident reports, eyewitness statements and expert testimony.
What to Do After Suffering a Workplace Injury in Orange County
If you get injured within the course or scope of your employment in Orange County, it is important to know the correct steps to take to protect your legal rights. An insurance company will review what you did and did not do immediately after your work accident to determine if you are eligible for financial benefits. If you make a mistake in the aftermath of your accident, this could hurt your ability to recover compensation.
If you can, take these steps after a workplace accident to protect your physical health and preserve your eligibility for benefits:
- Get emergency treatment, if needed. Call 911 or go to an emergency room right away if you have severe injuries. California’s workers’ comp rules do not require you to go to an employer-approved doctor in an emergency.
- Report the accident to your supervisor. Tell your employer about the incident and injuries right away. You have no more than 30 days from the date of the accident to report it to your employer if you wish to qualify for workers’ compensation.
- Obtain an accident report. Tell your employer that you wish for an official accident report. The report should detail all the important facts about the accident, including the time, date, location and people involved.
- Collect evidence. Before you leave the scene of the accident, take photos of the hazard that injured you. Look around for surveillance video cameras that may have caught the incident on tape. Write down the names of any witnesses.
- Keep up with medical care. Even if you don’t immediately feel injured, see a doctor (one on your employer-approved list) in case of hidden or delayed symptoms. If you are diagnosed with an injury, attend all follow-up appointments and adhere to your doctor’s recommendations.
- File a workers’ compensation claim. If you wish to pursue workers’ comp benefits, tell your employer that you want to file a claim. Your employer should fill out and submit the required claims form for you by the deadline. If not, you can do it yourself with help from an attorney.
- Do not reach a settlement without consulting a lawyer. If you accept a workers’ comp settlement, you cannot renegotiate for a larger amount or sue your employer for negligence. This is why it is critical to contact an attorney before signing anything.
- Call a personal injury lawyer in Orange County. Contact a lawyer to discuss your legal options before making any decisions. An attorney can review the details of your work accident and help you proceed with the correct type of claim.
Keep copies of all records, documents, reports and communications involved in your workplace accident. Then, bring this information to the attorneys at Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian for a free, no-obligation case review. We can provide guidance on what to do next based on your unique circumstances.
Retaliation After Filing a Workplace Injury Claim
It is against state and federal law for employers to retaliate against employees for filing workplace injury or workers’ compensation claims. Retaliation means to take negative or adverse employment action against a worker, such as job termination, demotion, pay cuts or refusing to hire a job applicant.
If you reported a safety hazard in your workplace or filed an injury claim after an accident at work in Orange County and your boss retaliated against you in some way, contact our attorneys about your legal options. You may be entitled to additional financial compensation through a second lawsuit against your employer for unlawful retaliation.
Do I Need to Hire an Attorney?
Many workers feel overwhelmed, confused and frustrated during the recovery process. Unfortunately, employers and their insurance providers do not make it easy for injured workers to receive the financial compensation that they deserve. You should consider hiring a lawyer for your workplace injury claim if any of the following is true:
- Your claim has been denied. If you filed a workers’ compensation claim that was denied by the insurance company, consult with an attorney to guide you through the appeals process.
- There is a dispute over benefits. If you and the insurance company do not agree as to the benefits or amount of financial compensation you are entitled to receive, a lawyer can be an advocate on your behalf.
- You have complex or catastrophic injuries. If your injuries require extensive medical care or have long-term consequences, a lawyer can help ensure you recover fair compensation.
- There is third-party liability. If you suspect someone other than your employer is responsible for your injury, you may have a personal injury claim and should consult with an attorney.
- Your employer is retaliating against you. If you face demotion, harassment or job termination after filing a workers’ comp claim, a lawyer can protect your rights and seek a legal remedy.
An experienced workplace injury lawyer in Orange County can help you in numerous ways. Find out how you could benefit from hiring an attorney during a free case consultation at our law firm.
What Is the Deadline to File a Work Injury Claim in Orange County?
You’ll have a limited time to pursue compensation for a work-related injury in Orange County, CA. Workers’ compensation claims must be filed within one year, while personal injury lawsuits are subject to a two-year statute of limitations.
You must report your workplace accident to your employer within 30 days for a valid workers’ compensation claim. Then, you or your employer must file a workers’ comp claim no more than one year from the date of your accident.
It is important to note that under federal law, federal employees have three years to file a workers’ comp claim. Should you choose to file a personal injury claim following a job-related injury, you must take legal action within two years of the date of the accident. If you did not discover your work injury or illness immediately, however, the clock won’t start counting down until the date you discovered (or reasonably should have discovered through due diligence) that you were injured.
Orange County Workplace Injury Claim FAQs
Understanding your rights as an injured worker in Orange County may take a personalized case evaluation with an experienced personal injury lawyer. At Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian, we offer free case reviews to answer your individual questions and provide tailored advice. In the meantime, we hope these frequently asked questions (FAQs) can help give you more information about your circumstances:
- Who qualifies for workers’ compensation in Orange County?
California law covers almost every employee with workers’ comp insurance. All employers are required to carry this insurance if they have one or more employees. If you are classified as an independent contractor, you will not have access to workers’ comp insurance for your injuries, although you may still be able to file a workplace injury lawsuit in Orange County in certain circumstances.
- How do you prove a workers’ comp claim?
You don’t have to prove a workers’ compensation claim in Orange County. You will automatically be entitled to benefits for any injury or illness that arises within the course and scope of your employment if you are a covered employee. If your eligibility is called into question, however, such as for alleged horseplay, employment status, legal violations or pre-existing injuries, you may need an attorney’s assistance proving your claim.
- What is the average workers’ compensation settlement in Orange County?
There is no such thing as an “average” workers’ comp settlement; every case is entirely unique. Some workers will qualify for a few thousand dollars while others may receive $100,000 or more. Case values depend on specific factors, such as the severity of the victim’s injuries, his or her prognosis for recovery, the cost of necessary medical care, the victim’s age, and the insurance coverage available.
- How long can you receive workers’ comp benefits?
The length of time you will continue receiving workers’ comp benefits in Orange County depends on your case and the extent of your injuries. If your work-related injury or illness qualifies as a permanent disability, you may be eligible for related benefits for the rest of your life. With a temporary disability, benefits will last for a maximum of 104 weeks, with some exceptions. Vocational rehabilitation benefits can last up to two years.
Each case is different. While the general legal system and recovery process remain the same, issues such as the length of time your case will take to resolve, the potential value of your claim, and whether or not you need to go to trial for a fair outcome are all variable. Contact an attorney at our law firm for more details about your specific case.
Call Our Trusted Orange County Workplace Injury Lawyers For Help Today
Get a jumpstart on your injury claim by contacting Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian today. Our Orange County personal injury attorneys have the experience, resources, and reputation you’ll need to make the most of your fight for compensation.
Reach out to our compassionate legal team in Newport Beach, CA today to set up a time to discuss the detail of your case for free.