Legal Question in Workers Comp in California

if you are off work because of an industrial injury you are entitled to TTD. You are not paid for the first three days until you have been off, I believe, 7 days. Contact your employer's workers' compensation carrier.

You may not be entitled to temporary disability if your claim is on delay pending investigation or if your claim is denied. The insurance company has 90 days to accept or deny your claim after you file. You are only entitled to up to $10,000 worth of medical treatment during that time. If your claim was denied, you are not entitled to any benefits.

You may wish to file for State Disability Insurance (SDI). This is a benefit for people who are injured off the job. However, they will usually pay benefits while the workers' compensation insurance carrier is deciding whether to accept your claim. You must indicate that your injury is work related on the SDI Application form. Also, generally, you cannot receive money from both workers' compensation and SDI at the same time. It may be considered fraud. The best policy is to let every agency/company know if you are receiving any benefits from any other agency or company.

Once your claim is accepted, you are only entitled to Temporary Disability (TD) benefits if an authorized physician takes you off work. In other words, you cannot just take off from work and expect TD.

You may be sent back to modified work or light duty work by the insurance company's doctor. The best policy is retain an attorney who would refer you to a doctor which would not immediately send you back to work until you receive necessary treatment. Feel free to call us at 213.388.7070 for a free consultation.

The insurance company's doctor will most likely either release you to go back to work to full duties, or, find that your injury is not industrial. It is best to find an attorney as soon as possible in order to preserve your rights to switch to another primary treating physician. Give me a call at 818.385.0520 and I will be glad to review your case at no charge.