6 Step-by-Step Guide to Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim in California and Avoiding Common Mistakes

If you were injured at work in California, you are eligible for workers’ compensation. However, it may not be that easy to acquire. Even if you are eligible for workers’ compensation, receiving what you deserve could be challenging. It’s all too easy to make a mistake when filing a worker’s compensation claim. We can help. Here at the ODG Law Group, we’ve helped workers recover the compensation they deserve for many years with our guide to filing a workers’ compensation claim. Having an experienced workers’ compensation attorney by your side can not just expedite the process, but also make it as stress-free as possible. 

Following this guide below gives you the best chance at the most successful outcome. 

Every worker is different. The injuries you suffer very well may differ from someone else’s. That said, this is generally the way the process goes for most. If you have any questions not addressed here, or would like to speak to an attorney with experience, we’ll be more than happy to help. You can reach out to us for a free case evaluation through this site or by giving us a call.

Workers Compensation in California: an Overview 

Any worker who is injured at work is eligible for workers’ compensation. To address one of the most common misconceptions, workers’ compensation is not like personal injury law. To receive compensation for your at-work injury, you do not need to prove that another party was liable for your injury. In fact, you could even have taken the action that led to your injury. So long as you were doing your job at the time of your injury, you can be eligible for workers’ comp. 

Many worker’s’ compensation cases involve injuries that occur in a workplace. Slips and falls in a warehouse, tumbling down the stairs in an office, and so forth – those kinds of cases can be straightforward.  The worker was doing their job when they suffered an injury at work. However, you could still be eligible for workers’ compensation if your injury occurred elsewhere. 

What Workers Compensation Benefits Can Cover 

In California, your worker’s’ compensation benefits can cover your medical treatment, and wages you may have lost due to being unable to work in the form of disability benefits,. Sometimes you can even get a supplemental job displacement voucher if your doctors find that you are unable to return to the workplace.  This retraining voucher will help you learn new skills that can be applied in the workforce. 

Here, too, workers’ compensation differs from personal injury law. With worker’s’ compensation, you are not eligible for what’s called “non-economic” damages. You cannot receive compensation for your pain, suffering, loss of consortium, and so forth. 

Hopefully, when you apply for workers’ compensation, you get all of the benefits you deserve. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. It’s entirely possible that you receive less than you deserve. Or, alternatively, your claim may simply be denied, even though it’s valid. If that should happen to you, reach out to us. We have a proven track record of helping workers whose initial claims were denied. 

Why It’s So Important to Avoid Mistakes 

Simply put, mistakes slow the process. If you make a mistake in either your actions, filing out the claim, or anything else, you could slow down the process. When you’ve suffered an injury at work, the very last thing you want to do is to have to wait for the compensation that you deserve. 

Another reason to avoid mistakes: the other side. Sometimes, the other side may try to say that you are not entitled to workers’ comp benefits, even if you have a perfectly valid case. 

For example, if you were injured in a vehicular accident while making deliveries for your job, you could also be eligible for workers’ comp. While it may seem simple, that you were injured at work and deserve compensation, the other side may still try to argue that you don’t deserve workers’ compensation benefits. That’s where we can help. 

An example of this could include “cumulative trauma” injuries. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, back injuries that build up over time, etc. – the other side could try to argue that you didn’t sustain the injury at work, and thus,  are not entitled to benefits and compensation. That’s an area where an attorney could provide invaluable help. The truth is, so long as you were hurt doing your job, you are entitled to medical treatment and benefits and deserve compensation. 

By following the rules and filling out the forms as you should, you give yourself the best chance of the most successful outcome. If you’re like so many of the workers we’ve helped receive compensation, there are people in your life who rely on you. You want to follow the process for yourself as well as those you care about. 

Step 1: Report to Your Employer 

If you were hurt at work , the  first step is to report your injury to your employer. Go to your supervisor, whoever they might be, and let them know about your injury. 

Again, do not hesitate. Do this as quickly as possible. There is nothing to be gained by hiding it, keeping it to yourself, “toughing through it,” or anything like that. If you’re hurt while in the course of doing your job, let your employer know about it as soon as possible. 

Tell them what happened. Don’t feel that you have to embellish or tell everything that you’re feeling, the extent of your injuries, and so forth. Tell them what happened. The old phrase “just the facts” applies here. 

The truth is that, unfortunately, in the immediate aftermath of an injury, you don’t know what the extent of the injury will be. Hopefully, the injury is minor and you won’t miss much time from work or require extensive medical treatment, etc. However, many injuries that initially seem minor end up being much worse. This is due to any number of factors, such as internal damage, symptoms that don’t initially appear, and so forth. 

If you were hurt at work, tell your supervisor as quickly as possible. Inform them directly about what happened. In return, they should offer you a DWC-1 Claim Form and refer you to medical treatment immediately. 

This may not be easy for you to do. That’s perfectly understandable. However, it’s necessary. Report your injury immediately when you are hurt at work. 

Step 2: Professional Medical Attention 

You want to immediately get professional medical attention after an at-work injury. Do not just “wait for it to heal” or anything like that. If you are hurt at work, get medical attention. This is the best course of action for your health, yes, but also for your case. 

If your injury is immediately severe, or requires medical attention right now, call 911. Again, do not hesitate. Always error on the side of caution. If it seems like it might be severe, you don’t want to bet that it isn’t only to lose that bet. If you are hurt at work and the injury seems like it may require calling 911, call 911 and have them transport you to the nearest hospital for a full evaluation.

In that instance, there is something you’re going to want to do: tell the medical staff that your injury is work-related. Be honest with 911 and the paramedics that arrive on site about how your injury occurred. If you are able to do so, inform them of that as early in the process as you can. Then, again, when you are able, contact your supervisor/employer from the hospital/as soon as you can to tell them about your injury. 

Doctors 

You may suffer an injury that doesn’t seem immediately serious enough to require calling 911. If that’s the case, utilize first aid. Your company should offer a form of first aid to you. Use that if at all possible. Then, your employer should refer you to a medical provider. This medical provider is usually at an off-site clinic.  If they do not offer you medical treatment, immediately, please take it upon yourself to schedule an appointment with a medical professional or go to the nearest urgent care to be evaluated immediately. You want a thorough diagnosis to determine exactly what could be wrong with you. 

The very last thing you want is to suffer a small injury, ignore or procrastinate on getting medical attention, only to find that your injury has worsened. That can jeopardize your health and could potentially make it more challenging for you to receive the compensation you deserve. Get medical attention as soon as you possibly can. 

If you have a doctor that’s been designated previously/from your healthcare provider, they can serve as your primary treating physician through this process. 

What to Tell Your Doctor 

When you meet with your doctor,  It is critical that you are honest with them about how and where your injury occurred. Additionally, tell them about all of the symptoms that you might have from the top of your head down to your toes. Mention all of them. If there’s any fear or concern you may have, any ache, no matter how slight, bring it up. Again, there is nothing to be gained by leaving something out when you’re talking to your doctor. 

The more information you give them about your injury, what you’re feeling, the circumstances behind it, and so forth, the better they’ll be able to diagnose you. 

On that same topic, when your doctor tells you to do something, do it. Yes, it’s very natural and even understandable to ignore some part of what they tell you. You may think: “Well, I don’t need to do all of that.” No, you do. Listen to what your doctor says and follow their advice exactly. 

There are many reasons to do this, of course. By following your doctor, you give yourself the best chance of successfully healing, as quickly and completely as possible. For another example, again, you don’t want to give another advantage to the other side in a dispute. Not following your doctor’s instructions makes it easier for them to argue you don’t deserve the compensation that you very much do. 

Step 3: File a Workers Compensation Claim (DWC-1 Form) 

Within one day of your injury or illness, your employer should provide you with the DWC 1 form. This form is what you’ll need to complete to start the workers’ compensation process. Again, they should provide this within one day. Not two, not next week, not “eventually” or “when they get around to it” – you should be provided with this form within a day of you telling your employer about your injury or illness. 

Now, as you should have told your employer about what happened to you immediately, you should receive this form soon. 

You fill out part of the form and your employer fills out part of the form. When it’s all done, your employer will then send the form to their insurance company for the filing of the claim. 

Something to remember about this form: it’s not you taking any kind of legal action against your employer. You aren’t hurting them by filling out the form, you aren’t suing them, or anything of that nature. All you’re doing is completing the form so that you can open a claim and begin receive workers’ compensation treatment and benefits. There’s nothing “personal” about this form. 

What to Remember About Filling Out the Form 

Perhaps the most common mistake that someone makes when filling out DWC 1 is that they don’t list all of the body parts where they feel pain. Here, as when speaking to your doctor, be as thorough as possible. If you feel any kind of pain, or ache somewhere in your body, put it into this form. List every single body part that’s affected by the injury. 

By that same token, you’re going to want to list where the injury occurred as well as how the injury happened. Again, you don’t have to worry about liability/fault here, but you do want to say exactly what happened when filling out this form. 

Why? Because this form is, in a real way, will make your initial case for you. From reviewing this form, it will be determined whether or not that you receive compensation and what body parts will be accepted as part of your workers’ compensation claim.

Of course, if you have any questions about this form, please reach out to ODG Law Group. We can help you to complete the form as well as assist you in other ways. 

Step 4: Stop Working When You’re Injured 

This may sound like common sense, but too many just continue working after they’ve been injured. If a doctor takes you off of work or gives you work restrictions that your employer can not accommodate, then you should stop working. It makes sense to want to continue to do your job after you’ve been hurt, but it’s not the best course of action for your health, for your job, for your company, and for those that rely upon you in life. 

We all want to work hard. We all want to be the person who “goes the extra mile,” who doesn’t quit, who the company can rely upon. However, working through an injury, working through pain, is not the way to go about it. 

For starters, this can cause even further damage to your body. This can set back your eventual recovery (if you need to have one) quite a bit. Moreover, there’s no way that you can be doing your job to the best of your ability if you have to suffer through it. With as many responsibilities that you have, trying to continue to do your job if you’ve been hurt or are sick will put you in a position of being unable to meet them. 

Trying to work through an injury or illness, especially when doctors have advised against it, will increase the likelihood of reinjury or an incomplete recovery. This is true whether you’re in the office, out in the field, in the warehouse, and so forth. If you are hurt, listen to your doctors and take the time off you need to recover and seek medical treatment and care.  This is the best course of action for you in the present as well as the future. 

Remember, if your workers’ compensation claim does become contentious, the other side is going to try and argue that you shouldn’t receive compensation. They may go to great lengths to do so. They could try to twist anything they can to their advantage. If you attempt to work through pain, illness, and so forth, they may try to use that to minimize your injury as well.

They could potentially argue that, because your injuries/illness weren’t enough to get you to stop working, why would you be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits and/or settlement? They may not say it in so many words, but you’ll have given them ample ammunition to do so. You don’t want to do that.  

Remove Yourself From Harm’s Way, to the Extent That You Can 

If you are able, the next course of action is to remove yourself from harm’s way. So long as you can do so safely, move yourself away from the threat of further harm. This may not be possible, depending on your injury. Indeed, your injury may necessitate that you do not move so as to preserve your health. But, if you can get away from continued harm, do so. 

Step 5: Document the Injury

Document the injury. Document it as much as you are able. The more you document the injury, the better a case you can make. 

As a rule of thumb, if there’s something you think might be worth documenting about your injury, do so. That means taking pictures and videos as early as you can. Your injury, hopefully, is going to heal. As it does so, it won’t look exactly how it did during the time of your injury. As such, it makes sense to document the injury at its worst. That way, you have real, definitive, visual proof of what you’ve had to go through. 

With that in mind, you’re going to want to continue to document your injuries as they heal, too. This can also demonstrate the severity of your injury. It’s one thing to see an injury shortly after you’ve suffered it. It’s something else entirely to see the progress the injury has (or has not) made over time. 

If there is a dispute about your worker’s’ comp, an attorney can use all of this documentation to help your case. When the other side tries to argue that your injury wasn’t that bad/etc., you’ll be able to use your documentation to show exactly what happened. 

Take Note of All Of Your Treatments 

If you’re like many who’ve suffered an injury at work, you may very well have to go through medical treatments on your healing journey. Document these, too. Make sure that you have proof of all the medical treatments that you’ve had because you were hurt at work. 

This includes doctors’ visits, medications, treatments they may have tried – anything. Just as with the documentation of your injuries, err on the side of “too much” versus too little. After all, anything that might be superfluous to your case can be deleted, thrown out, and so forth. You don’t want to miss or ignore evidence that would be compelling for your case. 

Social Media 

With all this discussion about taking pictures, videos, and the like, it’s natural to wonder how much should be posted on social media. We recommend not posting anything related to your case. It can’t really do any good. All it can do is potentially hurt your case. Again, you want to be able to avoid these common mistakes that the other side is practically counting on you to make. 

As with so much else, you want to use common sense. Don’t document your injuries until you’ve gotten to safety. Make sure to follow your doctor’s advice and to document every single symptom you experience and treatment you are receiving. . 

Step 6: Hiring an Attorney 

Hopefully, you filled out DWC 1, and you began receiving all the treatment and all of the workers’ compensation benefits that you deserve for your at-work injury. Unfortunately, many times, that’s just not the case. 

Your claim may have been denied. Or, perhaps you did receive workers’ compensation, but you received less than you believe that you should have. That’s where we here at the ODG Law Group can help. 

You have a right to file an appeal if your worker’s’ compensation claim is denied.  When it comes to that appeal, you want  to know what you’re doing and how to navigate the workers’ compensation system and appeals process.. We can help you appeal  and give you the best chance of success in your workers’ compensation case.. 

If you believe that you could use the help of an experienced attorney,  please reach out immediately and don’t waste any time.  The sooner you have an attorney assist you, the better.After all, you have to file a worker’s compensation claim within one year of the injury. That may seem like a long period of time, but it isn’t. If you were hurt at work and are looking for compassionate representation with a track record of helping clients to secure maximum benefits, we’re here. Schedule a free case evaluation with ODG Law Group today.