Legal Question in Workers Comp in California

Re: state mandated compensation caps?

There is no formula in determining damages in a personal

injury accident. The insurance adjuster will look

at the property damage and then compare it to your

doctor bills and reports and then offer an obscenely

low amount, usually a third of what you are entitled

to. Once you hire an attorney to handle your claim for

you a settlement can usually be reached that is satisfactory

to you and will certainly be worth hiring an attorney.

Your experienced attorney can determine what your

case is worth through reviewing your injuries and

the property damage caused by the accident. I have

handled several hundred personal injury case. About

a third of which were out-of-town cases. I do most

of my work over the phone and fax and most of my

cases are return client's or referrals from happy

clients. Give me a call and I would be happy to

give you a free consultation. IF you do not

like the idea of an out-of-town attorney I suggest

that you contact an attorney immediately.

Contrary to popular belief that you can handle your own personal

injury case to save money it will probably cost you

money in the long run when the insurance company

railroads you for so long, you are forced to settle for

less just to get it over with! I have just

settled a case for a client who came to me three

weeks ago. She had gotten into an accident almost

a year ago and her friends had settled immediately

for about $1000 each. She felt that this was not

enough money because she was still hurting. I spoke

with the adjuster once and spoke with my client. I

settled her case for $4500 one week later, when the

initial offer had only been $1500. So my client paid

my fee, her bills and still had over $2000 in her pocket.

Not all my cases are this cut and dry, but most of

them are. If you need references I can email you a list

of clients that have given my there ok to send

out their names and phone numbers. Good luck if

I don't hear from you

John Hayes

The John Hayes Law Offices

P.O. Box 3003

Re: state mandated compensation caps?

What you think of as a "reward" at the close of a case is actually compensation for permanent disability, if any. It is determined largely by the medical reports. Assuming that the applicant has won the case, his medical reports--actually, the final or permanent and sstationary ;report--is asent to professionals called "raters" who determine thse amount of permanent disability from the report. Then the "rating" of permanent disability by this rater determines the "award." It is not actually an "award" in the sense of damages in a civil suit for personal injuries, but rather it is sopposed to compensate the injured worker for the fact he is now not able to compete for jobs in the labor market on the same terms as persons without disability. Hoew the rating is determined is set out in a state publication

called the "Schedule for Rating Permanent Disabilities". It is not uncommon for injured workers to be dissatisfied with the compensation thus granted to them but that's how the system operates. California's payments in workers' compensation are among the very lowest in the nation, in large part to the fact that recent Republican governors have been hostile to workers' rights.

Bill Barger

Law Offices of Bill Barger

806 Manhattan Beach Blvd #213