Our San Bernardino work injury lawyers have been practicing law since 1979 and have earned a successful and respectable reputation in the legal and insurance communities. Our 40+ years of legal experience, community development, and firm name recognition provide a unique advantage for our clients. If you have suffered an injury at work, you could be eligible for financial benefits to cover your past and future medical bills, lost wages, disability expenses, pain and suffering, and more. Our workers’ compensation attorneys will take the time to speak with you, handle your case as quickly as possible, and get the maximum settlement or verdict recovery for your case. We know you want the best and our reputation in San Bernardino and throughout Southern California speaks for itself. We are among the best San Bernardino work accident and work injury attorneys you can find.
The San Bernardino work injury lawyers at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo have been helping people recover and win their work accident cases since 1979. Our work accident lawyers know how severe work injuries can be and have the resources and experience to help maximize your case. We will do everything we can legally do to make you whole again. That includes investigating your case to look for other possible responsible parties in addition to your employer or place of work. The additional responsible parties are known legally as Third Parties and can be a person or a company.
The San Bernardino workers’ compensation attorneys at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo truly believe that it is fair that those who caused you to be injured should be a part of your recovery.
When a Third Party is involved in your work injury case, our work accident attorneys in San Bernardino will file both a worker’s compensation claim and a civil legal cause of action against the additional Third Party who caused your injury or accident. A Third Party civil lawsuit and a workers’ compensation claim are separate injury claims that are distinct. These claims, although separate, are closely intertwined.
Our work injury attorneys are very experienced in handling this complex scenario. We have been representing injured clients who are eligible for both workers’ compensation claims and Third Party civil causes of action, simultaneously, for over 40 years. Contact us today for a free initial consultation.
California law requires that all employers, even those with only one employee, carry workers’ compensation insurance coverage. This system helps to ensure that all workers who suffer injuries while on the job have access to workers’ compensation benefits to relieve the economic stress of medical bills and lost wages.
Once an employee sustains a workplace injury, he or she should report the injury to the appropriate supervisor or manager immediately. Some injuries do not manifest immediate symptoms, so if you notice something that you believe occurred due to a previous incident, report your concerns to your supervisor immediately to start the claims process. The State Workers’ Compensation Board will require you to undergo a medical examination from one of several approved doctors in their network to determine your condition and eligibility for benefits.
All employers must provide injured employees with the forms required for making workers’ compensation claims and process them in a timely manner. Although a claim may cause the employer’s insurance premiums to increase, the employer still has a legal obligation to process a claim in good faith. This means an employer cannot take adverse action against a claimant simply for filing a claim or interfere with or delay the claims process for any reason. To learn more about the different workers’ compensation laws in San Bernardino and California, speak to one of our workers’ compensation lawyers in San Bernardino today.
There are numerous issues that may potentially complicate the workers’ compensation claims process. Missing paperwork, failing to meet filing deadlines, or failure to appear for required hearings can all have a negative impact on your claim. However, it’s possible to follow all the right steps and still encounter problems.
Insurance bad faith is a challenge you may have to overcome if the workers’ compensation insurance provider does not handle your case properly. If you follow all the rules and submit your claim on time, for example, but the insurance company still denies your claim without a valid reason, you could have a bad faith case. It may be possible to file an additional claim against the insurance company for treating your case improperly. An insurance bad faith claim could result in penalty awards for you for the insurer’s misconduct.
Hiring an experienced workers’ compensation attorney will be a very wise decision after any workplace injury. Your San Bernardino work accident attorney can help you navigate the initial claims process and meet your filing requirements to limit the chances of a delayed or denied claim. If there is any pushback against your claim, your lawyer can help you determine an acceptable solution or explore alternative remedies.
Our work injury lawyers have the experience, training, education, and resources to help workers in San Bernardino with all types of personal injuries and illnesses after a work-related mishap. We can help you file a strong workers’ compensation claim as well as examine the possibility of a third-party lawsuit. A lawsuit may result in better compensation for serious, catastrophic, and life-changing personal injuries. Our lawyers understand how dramatically an injury can impact your life. We are here to help with all kinds of work-related injuries, including:
An occupational injury or illness could put you out of work. It could result in spending hours in doctors’ offices, traveling to see specialists, undergoing medical procedures, and entering rehabilitative therapies. You and your family may spend thousands of dollars in lifetime medical costs associated with a workplace injury. At our law firm, we are passionate about helping workers with serious injuries throughout California. It is our mission to help you recover the compensation you need to move forward with confidence, peace of mind, and financial stability.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a federal body in charge of overseeing workplace safety. OSHA has about 2,100 inspectors responsible for eight million worksites around the U.S. OSHA has hundreds of rules and regulations that workplaces must follow. Breaching any OSHA rule could lead to penalties against the employer, such as fines or legal action. Unfortunately, many employers fail to uphold OSHA safety standards, often to save time or money. In 2021, 5,190 workers died while on the job. Many of these deaths were due to commonly breached OSHA standards, such as the following:
These were the 10 most frequently cited standards violated in 2021, according to OSHA. OSHA conducted 24,333 inspections in 2021, which included 13,749 unprogrammed inspections due to complaints or injuries. In general, employee deaths have dropped significantly since OSHA began, down from an average of 38 fatalities a day in 1970 to 13 in 2020. There is still, however, much room for improvement in terms of workplace safety, especially among employers that regularly violate OSHA health and safety standards.
If you or a loved one is in the construction field in San Bernardino, the risk of sustaining a serious injury is, unfortunately, rather high. Construction is the most dangerous industry, according to OSHA workplace accident statistics. Nearly one-fifth of all worker fatalities in the private industry in 2021 were in construction. Construction is dangerous for workers due to the inherent risks of the job, such as working from heights and working around heavy machinery. Aside from highway collisions, four main hazards cause most worker deaths in construction.
Almost all construction site accidents, injuries, and fatalities are preventable. At DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo, we can investigate any work-related accident in San Bernardino for signs of negligence, such as a breached OSHA standard. Then, we can use this information to build a strong case against the at-fault party. Whether you suffered an injury in construction or another industry in California, we can help you identify the at-fault party and collect available evidence of negligence for a claim.
Workplace injuries happen for many reasons. No matter how a workplace injury occurs, all injured employees in California have the right to file for workers’ compensation. If you injure yourself because of personal negligence or human error, you can still qualify for benefits. However, if any other party bears responsibility for your injury, you may have other options for additional recovery. Some examples of possible liable parties for your workplace injury include:
If your employer or a supervisor knew about a dangerous hazard in the workplace but did not address it in a timely or effective manner, you may have the option of filing a personal injury lawsuit against your employer. Employers cause many employee injuries by negligently failing to maintain safe work environments. An employer could be liable for a dangerous premises, improper worker training, lack of safety equipment, poor equipment maintenance, or other failures to adhere to the duties of care toward employees.
If a defective or dangerous product caused your workplace injury, you might have the option of pursuing a product liability claim against the manufacturer. Your workers’ compensation attorney will help you determine if the product in question was defective by design, by production, or if it did not include adequate instructions for use or safety warnings. In these cases, a plaintiff does not need to prove the manufacturer was negligent, only that the product in question was defective and responsible for the plaintiff’s damages.
Another party unrelated to your employment may be liable for your damages. For example, if you are making a delivery for work and a drunk driver hits you, you would still qualify for workers’ compensation since you sustained an injury in the course of your job duties. You could then take legal action against the at-fault driver for additional recovery. Your San Bernardino workers’ compensation lawyer will be a tremendous asset after any job-related injury. If there is any question about liability for your damages, your attorney will help you gather the evidence necessary to determine the appropriate defendant for your lawsuit. Schedule a consultation with DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo today.
It is possible to receive a financial award through both the workers’ compensation system in California and a personal injury lawsuit in some situations. To recover through both, a third party other than your employer must have caused your injuries. You cannot recover through both outlets if the at-fault party was your employer. You must choose one or the other based on the circumstances of your case. Once you accept a workers’ compensation settlement in California, you forfeit your right to file a personal injury lawsuit against your employer.
If a party other than your employer caused the accident, however, you can accept a workers’ compensation settlement, then proceed to file a negligence-based lawsuit against the at-fault party, such as a product manufacturer or property owner. Your family could be eligible for recovery through both systems in this scenario. Our work injury lawyers know how to maximize financial recovery for a family using a thorough investigation of events leading up to the incident. We will explore every potential outlet for recovery on your behalf.
The California workers’ compensation program offers benefits to cover 100% of an injured worker’s related medical expenses and two-thirds of lost weekly wages, up to a state-mandated maximum. Other benefits available through workers’ compensation include disability and death benefits. Disability benefits can cover the economic costs of a temporary, permanent, total, or partial disability after a work-related accident. Death benefits can cover the costs of a family’s expenses after the loss of a loved one, including funeral and burial expenses.
Compensation available through the civil justice system may be greater than the workers’ compensation system alone. A personal injury claim allows an injured party to demand financial recovery for damages such as medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, psychological distress, property damage, lost quality or enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, legal costs, and more. A judge may also award punitive damages if the at-fault party was grossly negligent or reckless in causing your injuries. Speak to one of our attorneys in San Bernardino about your case today to determine its value.
A free consultation with one of our attorneys can give you honest and dependable answers to your most pressing questions. We can listen to your story and extract the details about your specific accident and occupational injury. Then, we can give you sound advice and trustworthy legal counsel on how to move forward. We welcome you to ask any questions you want during your free consultation with one of our lead personal injury attorneys. If you are not sure what to ask, start here:
It will cost you $0 to have a confidential conversation with one of our work injury lawyers in San Bernardino County. You can ask as many questions as you wish during your initial free consultation. We can travel to your home or hospital for the first meeting if you are unable to come to us. If we believe you have a case and offer to represent you, it will also be $0 to retain our services. Learn more today by scheduling a free consultation.
All workers in the state of California are entitled to benefits after a workplace injury. Every employer with one or more employees must carry insurance or offer proof of self-insurance to maintain compliance with state laws. However, in some cases, an insurer is deliberately trying to minimize the payout to a deserving claimant. Unless you’ve had a work accident before, you may not understand the process, your rights as an employee, or your employer’s responsibilities. At DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo in San Bernardino, we help injured workers through all types of injuries, accidents, and claims complications. We offer comprehensive legal representation to our clients and will support them against insurance companies in bad faith claims. Your employer is paying for the full terms of the policy, and you deserve to receive fair compensation based on a set of fair and accurate terms. Initial consultations are always free and can help you determine if moving forward with our legal assistance is right for you, so contact our office in San Bernardino today for more information.
