Legal Question in Workers Comp in California
I was injured on the job over 13 yrs ago, have had over 10 major foot reconstruction surgeries and a knee relacement, I also have because of my limited ability to excercise and the stress of this caase had a heart attack in 2009 and it damaged 40% of the left side of my heart,My case is the 2nd oldest in san berdo county,CA. and the defense for the city I worked for have knowingly and purposley dragged out this case to milk the self insure3d city for a lot of money. Now when I am trying to settle with my attorney, the advice Im getting is that they are going to rate my disabilty so low and with the possibility of future surgeries I would be best served by just going along with future medical benefits. I have lost 13 yrs of my life, endured much pain and physical therapies, have recieved approx $100,000.00 dollars over that time period in compensation,so they claim I really dont have but 20 or $ 30,000 dollars available to me. This cant be right!!! On top of this the city I worked for is probably going Bankrupt and is under investigation by the SEC for Fraud!!! What can I do and is there any real help out there?
1 Answer from Attorneys
You receive nothing for the 13-year duration of the action.
You receive nothing for the defense attorney extending time.
"Just going along with future medical benefits" is NOT a settlement vehicle in Workers Comp: it is either a "divorce" with a Compromise & Release Agreement where you get some -- just a little, not anywhere near all -- future medical expenses as cash in hand ...
....or the Stipulations With Request For Award, where the employer and employee agree to a certain percentage of Permanent Disability plus the provision there "IS NEED" for future medical, then you go to court over each medical treatment requested in the future.
There is no recovery for 'pain & suffering' in workers comp.
It is entirely possible that you have received all the Permanent Disability payments due, because the city paid Permanent Disability checks for years and years without a judgement at trial.
It is entirely possible the only 'cash' left in the case is the future medical access rights.
Investigation by the Securities & Exchange Commission for anything has zero bearing on your recovery in Workers Compensation.
If you have no "medical legal' report from a cardiologist proving the heart damage was the direct result of the 1999 industrial injury. there is no recovery on the heart.
Also, if your attorney failed to amend your Application to include Heart as an injured body part within one year of the heart attack, you receive zero recovery for the heart damage.
THERE IS NEVER A GOOD OUTCOME FOR A CLAIM THAT CONTINUES SO MANY YEARS.
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