Legal Question in Workers Comp in California

Re: Injured Twice

At some point in your Worker's Compensation proceeding, your treating physician will prepare a report called Permanent and Stationary report which has a detialed history of your industrial injury. You will also be evaluated by either the insurance or defense medical examiner called QME (Qualified Medical Examiner) or upon your agreement by AME (Agreed Medical Examiner). You also may be deposed at so point about your Comp. case. In all of these examinations I strongly advise you to tell the truth about your recent accident. There will be legal and medical arguments about apportinment and causation due to the automobile accident and the medical examiner will make findings and may apportion each injury based on his diagnosis. Another thing is you have a third party claim aside from the Worker's Compensation against the driver who caused the automobile accident. I strongly advise you to pursue this case as well and get compensation for your new and additional injuries if your existing injuries were aggrevated . Another important fact is where and when the accident happened and if the accident happened on your way to get therapy for your worker's compensation case it could be argued that the accident was foreseeable and still a part of the same case.I had cases very similar to yours and I am very familiar how to resolve them, so please contact me if you have further questions about your case.

Re: Injured Twice

Where were you going to or from when you were involved in the car accident? This is important because it may affect your ability to claim additional disability.

Under the new workers' compensation laws, you may have lost some or all claim to permanent disability depending upon what your doctors tell you about your back.

I do recommend you consult with a workers' compensation attorney about this issue.

Re: Injured Twice

Remember one thing...insurance companies are always looking for ways not to pay the injured worker or a plaintiff in a car accident. This means that there is probably going to be a battle of the medicals. With this said, should the W.C. defense learn that you were in an accident, they will send you to a defense doctor for a supplemental report just so that the defense doctor can report that the car accident is now the complete, or substantial cause of your permanent disability. Just so you know if you were on your way to being treated for your work-related injury when the accident occurred, or even a workers� comp deposition, then your car accident may be considered part of your workers' comp claim. In fact, if the above is true, then you also have a third party claim against the driver of the other car.

If the car accident was not related to any of the above, then you will have a regular lawsuit against the driver of the other car. This is where the battle of the medicals will really apply since all the insurance companies will want to be off the hook for your injury(ies).

At the end of the day, you should file a lawsuit against the car that struck you. Depending on what part of the process you are in with your W.C. claim, you may be asked whether or not you had any other accidents by a defense attorney during deposition or by a defense doctor or by your doctor. In any event, you must tell the truth because not only is it the right thing to do, but holding back can tank your credibility and thus your case. On the other hand, I�m not sure if you�re obligated to make phone calls to the world in order to volunteer information.

Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact my office at 818.943.0462.