In the United States, an average of 6 million car accidents occur every year. There are many different factors to a car accident, of which some are beyond a driver’s hands. Nonetheless, it would be wise to practice and be aware of all precautions to avoid being involved in a car accident.
Some of the tips to remember to avoid being involved in a car accident includes the following:
Check the Weather and Road Conditions
Weather and road conditions are the other two vital factors affecting driving circumstances. Certain weather conditions, including, but not limited to, rain, snow, fog, windy, or nighttime conditions, may pose significant risks in driving conditions. Although it is wise to avoid traveling during extreme weather, it may not be possible on certain occasions. If it is unavoidable to travel in such poor weather, practicing extra precautions in driving, including driving slowly or having proper lighting, can help mitigate a car accident.
In addition, road conditions such as poor lighting, street constructions, broken roads, or low traffic lights and signs may also contribute to car accidents. Being familiar with the road conditions or seeking alternate routes to avoid these circumstances may help you avoid car accidents.
Check Other Cars Around You
As drivers, we’re constantly told to keep our eyes on the road. However, checking your surroundings is not limited to being aware of what’s in front of you. Safe practices involve constantly checking and being aware of the environment and car behind and on both sides of our vehicles so we may move or speed up or slow down if necessary to avoid a collision.
By being aware of other vehicles on the road, you can minimize blind spots while driving. Doing so means adjusting your mirrors, seats, or any items that may block your view.
Car Maintenance
Just as the driver must be in tip-top shape when operating a car, the vehicle itself must also be in good working condition to avoid malfunction that may cause a car accident. This means that the vehicle must be in good shape through regular maintenance, including, but not limited to, tires, oil, and brakes.
In addition, the driver must also be familiar with the car they are driving. Knowing how the vehicle responds, its limits, and its capacity, the driver would understand handling the vehicle when operating it to avoid any mishaps on the road that may cause an accident.
Learn Defensive Driving
Defensive driving classes are great resources for safety tips and driving risks to anticipate in specific scenarios, which may help you improve your driving skills. These classes provide tools and insights that can help you make safe driving decisions under challenging scenarios to avoid getting into a car accident.
Aside from learning valuable tips and potentially saving yourself from the headache of being involved in a car accident, graduating from a defensive driving class can also earn you a significant discount on your car insurance premiums. Check with your auto insurance provider for more information.
Check Yourself
As the operator of the vehicle, your physical, emotional, and mental state dramatically affects the manner, you are driving or responding to the traffic. As studies have shown, a driver experiencing sleepiness, tiredness, or extreme emotional or mental distress would not be fit to operate a vehicle since their inhibition to respond to many factors while driving would be lowered.
The same effect can be found when taking specific medication, or alcohol, or drugs. It has been proven that the odds of getting into an accident are heightened when a driver is under specific medicines, alcohol, or drugs. This element is critical that laws are passed to make it illegal to drive a motor vehicle while under the influence or while intoxicated.
Hence, checking on oneself is extremely important before operating a vehicle to avoid getting into a car accident.
Note that the tips listed above do not cover all safety practices, nor does it guarantee that following them would not get you involved in a car accident. Car accidents since collisions can occur in so many other ways and may incur even if you are doing everything right. However, practicing safe driving may prevent car accidents.
If you or a loved one have been involved in a car accident, call our offices to speak with an experienced attorney. Our experienced attorneys at Injury Compensation Law PC can help you navigate the complex legal issues surrounding car accident injuries.
After a work-related injury, many people wonder what steps they need to take to file a workers’ compensation claim. The six basic steps are as follows:
First Aid
The first step is to take care of emergency needs, if the situation calls for it. If it is a medical emergency, call 911 or go to an emergency room. At the hospital let them know it is a job-related injury so you do not receive the bill. In a true emergency you do not need to notify your employer before seeking medical attention.
Report the Injury
When you can safely do so, notify your employer of the injury or illness. If there is not an emergency situation, notify your employer before seeking medical attention, as they will direct you to their insurance approved doctor/clinic. File a report with your employer within 30 days of the injury. If you file after 30 days you are not automatically precluded from receiving benefits, but you will face more challenges and delays. If the injury or trauma developed over time, report it as soon as you realize the injury was caused by your job. Your employer must give or mail you a Workers’ Compensation Claim Form (DWC 1) within one working day after you report your injury or illness. If your employer does not, or will not, give you one, you can obtain one from an Information & Assistance officer employed by the state, find one online at the Division of Workers Compensation website here: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/DWCForm1.pdf , or contact a workers compensation attorney like those at Injury Compensation Law PC to fill it out.
Fill out your portion of the DWC1, and promptly return it to your employer. Your employer will fill out their portion and submit it to a claims administrator (also called a claims examiner or claims adjuster).
Go to the Doctor
Your employer will direct you to their insurance approved doctor/clinic. You can pre-designate a doctor of your choosing, but this must be done in writing and approved before the injury or illness. Do not wait too long to go to the doctor, and just like in the emergency room, be sure to tell them it is a work-related injury so you do not get the bill. Your employer must pay for medical care for job-related injuries whether or not you miss time from work.
Give a thorough report of all your symptoms to the doctor, even if they seem less important to the main injury. If a minor injury develops into something more serious but is not on the doctor’s report, your employer may try to argue that the injury was not work related.
It is important to follow the direction of your doctor in returning to work and normal activity. Do not let your employer dictate what you are capable of (or required to do) if your doctor has given other advice. Do not return to work before your doctor deems you ready, even if you are receiving pressure from your employer. If your employer threatens to discipline or fire you because you are following your doctor’s orders, contact us at Injury Compensation Law.
Keep Good Records
The California Department of Industrial Relations recommends that you keep records of everything including doing the following:
- taking notes of all conversations you have with anyone involved in your claim;
- tracking your medical condition and how it affects your ability to work;
- submitting a written request to the claims administrator for copies of all medical reports and other documents;
- submitting off work/work restrictions reports to your employer/HR;
- saving pay stubs and time sheets from before and after the injury to show income and the dates you did and did not work; and
- maintaining a record of any out-of-pocket expenses that could be covered by workers’ compensation such as travel costs and prescriptions
Apply for Benefits with EDD
File a claim with the Employment Development Department (EDD) for state disability insurance (SDI) benefits - NOT unemployment benefits (that can hurt your case). You usually cannot receive both workers’ compensation and State Disability Insurance at the same time but you may be able to receive SDI benefits if your employer denies or delays workers’ compensation benefits. Since insurance companies have up to 90 days to accept or deny your claim, you will likely need to apply for EDD SDI during that time until the claim is accepted and workers compensation insurance benefits take over. Remember that at no time can you receive double benefits or benefits and full pay.
Contact an Attorney
An attorney will help you stay up on deadlines, file all the necessary documents, manage hearing dates, appeal insurance denials, and a variety of other things. Most importantly an attorney will be your advocate while you rest and recover. Managing a workers’ compensation claim while recovering from an injury can be stressful. The attorneys here at Injury Compensation Law are here to help relieve some of that stress. We are here to protect your rights. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Are you looking for a new job and are worried that a past workers’ compensation claim may make you look like an undesirable hire to an employer? Or have you been injured and are concerned that filing a claim could affect your future opportunities? Many people have concerns about how a workers’ compensation claim may affect job offers and whether it will appear on a background check.
Does a workers’ compensation claim appear on a background check?
Yes. A claim will appear on some background checks. However, the employer only has access to the records after a conditional offer has been given. They cannot use the history of workers’ compensation claims as part of a pre-screening for employment offers.
What information from the claim will show up on the background check?
- Date of Injury
- Some body parts claimed
- Employer at time of injury
- Insurance carrier/administrator involved
- Any law firm involved
Can the employer use the past claim to rescind the conditional job offer?
No. Title I of the Americans with Disability Act of 1990 “prohibits private employers, State and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.”
It is discriminatory to penalize a person for exercising a lawful right of filing a workers’ compensation claim. If an employer retracts an offer because of your workers’ compensation record, it could open the employer up to liability. They could face serious fines and even criminal charges.
Can the employer use the disability found on the claim to rescind the offer?
If the lasting effects of the injury might interfere with your ability to perform the job as outlined in the job description and offer, then the employer can use that information. Do not misrepresent your capabilities if a disability will actually prevent you from being able to carry out the job.
Can I just leave off the job where I filed a workers’ compensation claim from my application/resume?
This is not advisable. While a potential employer cannot use a workers’ compensation claim to discriminate against you, they may consider leaving the job where you filed a workers’ compensation claim off of your application/resume as falsification. Falsification of an application is grounds for rescinding the job offer.
Do I need to address my medical history or past workers’ compensation claims with my potential employer?
No. If the medical history does not affect your current or future ability to perform the job you have been offered you do not need to discuss it if the employer brings it up, nor do you have to bring it up on your own. It is not their business.
If you have any other questions regarding a workers’ compensation claim and its presence on a background check, feel free to reach out to Injury Compensation Law, PC today! If you have been injured and are looking to file a claim, we can assist you in getting the compensation you deserve. Contact us for a free consultation!
In California Workers Compensation, an “‘Injury’ includes any injury or disease arising out of and in the course of employment.” This is a very broad definition but the labor code breaks it down into two categories, “specific” and “cumulative,” based on how the injury occurs.
A specific injury is one that occurs “as the result of one incident or exposure which causes disability or need for medical treatment.” So this means a specific event led to the injury for which compensation is being sought.
Examples of this include:
- Slip and fall accidents
- Cuts, abrasions, and burns
- Fractured or broken bones
A specific injury may have an effect that is realized immediately, such as an employee pulling their back while lifting a heavy item. Alternatively, the injury causing incident may result in latent effects that are realized at a later time. An example of this is an employee getting in a car accident that seems to be unharmed by the accident but in the coming days develops whiplash that requires medical treatment.
The other type of injury is a cumulative trauma/injury. A cumulative trauma/injury occurs from the combined effect of “repetitive metally or physically traumatic activities over a period of time [...] which causes any disability or need for medical treatment.”
Examples of a cumulative trauma/injury include:
- Back injury due to frequent standing, repetitive lifting, or continuous sitting in a non-ergonomic chair
- Eye strain from looking at a computer screen
- Carpal tunnel from overuse of hands or wrists
- Respiratory issues due to toxic exposure in the air
Cumulative injury can result from minor strains over time as listed above but they can also result from continuous exposure to harmful substances. Examples of this include lung disease from inhaling particulates like dust at a construction site or pesticides from landscaping.
An injury can also be the result of mental strain over time such as the stress of a job causing anxiety, depression, high blood pressure or even a stroke. There are cumulative trauma mental injuries, some with physical manifestations such as headaches, high blood pressure, etc. Often these are paired with discriminatory action complaints to overcome the employer’s “good faith personnel action” defenses.
Cumulative injuries develop over time and commonly take several years before symptoms require medical attention or cause disability, but there is not a set minimum amount of time required for the injury to be considered a cumulative injury. They can develop in the span of a few days or even a few hours and still be a cumulative injury if the injury is the result of more than a single incident or activity.
Specific injuries have an intuitive date— the date on which the incident causing injury took place. Cumulative injuries, however, do not have such an intuitive date but still have a date for legal purposes (such as the statute of limitations) so it is important to consult with a knowledgeable workers compensation attorney like Injury Compensation Law PC that will assess the date of the injury as well as the type and available compensation. Our firm has extensive experience with both specific and cumulative injuries (both mental and physical) so reach out today for a free consultation!
Disclaimer: This is attorney marketing and is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established, and readers should not rely on this information for legal cases. Please consult a attorney licensed in your jurisdiction to review your case facts and legal options for advice.
California Workers Compensation has very specific rules for how any kind of treatment will be approved – the doctor’s request must go through “Utilization Review” (UR). Just because your doctor requests treatment or writes a prescription during your visit, does not mean it will be approved. Doctors must follow the “Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule” which includes the “American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine” (ACOEM) Guidelines, as well as the “Official Disability Guidelines” (ODG). These guidelines outline exactly how all kinds of injuries must be treated based on nationally recognized peer reviewed evidence based medicine. In order for treatment to be approved, it must be supported in these guidelines or the doctor must explain (with citations to studies) why they are not following the guidelines.
In addition, remember that the insurance company only pays/approves for up to $10,000 in medical treatment during the delay/decision period (up to first 90 days), and only pays/approves treatment on accepted cases. So if your case is denied, or if the insurance company is disputing whether a certain body part is related to your work injury – they will defer UR and will not approve/authorize anything requested.
Read more: Why Hasn’t Medication, Diagnostics, Treatment, etc Been Approved in California Workers’...
