Riverside Work Accident Lawyers

Riverside Work Injury Attorneys

When you suffer a work injury in or around Riverside County you may lose your ability to continue working, or to do the same job you did before your worker's injury. Your personal life may suffer, as well, as you battle 24 hours a day with pain and disability caused by your work accident.

Riverside-area employees suffer work injuries every week, and they may be entitled to payment following a work accident, either from the workers' compensation system or through a personal injury lawsuit - or even from both. The families of workers who die from a work injury may also have a valid claim for compensation.

If you or a loved one have been involved in an accident at work or have suffered a work-related injury or illness, you should contact a qualified Riverside work injury attorney who can help you to get the benefits and damages you are entitled to.

Seeking Worker's Injury Compensation From a Riverside-Area Employer

In 2005, more than 5,700 people died while on the job, while another 4.2 million workers suffered work-related injuries or illnesses. Because the law limits who may sue their employers, most work-injured employees must seek compensation through the workers' compensation system.

To apply for workers' compensation, notify your employer of your work injuries, and put in a claim immediately following a work accident. Any significant delay could reduce your recovery, or even make you ineligible for work injury benefits.

When the workers' compensation system is the only available remedy to a Riverside-area victim injured in a work accident, he or she will be entitled by law to a fixed amount of compensation, paid for by insurance the employer carries. To receive benefits under the workers' compensation system no proof of employer fault need be shown. Therefore, the work-injured worker will not need to go to court in order to recover.

Unfortunately, workers' compensation benefits, which are governed by state law, often do not pay enough to make work-injured employees whole again. Work accident victims can usually recover only medical expenses, some disability compensation and a cash payment, if work-related injuries are permanent.

Can anything be done to get more compensation for the employee with a work injury?

There are some limited exceptions to the workers' compensation "exclusive remedy rule." For example, if an employer's intentional acts affirmatively caused the work injury, or if the employer knew of a dangerous condition and did not remedy it in a reasonable time and manner in order to avoid a work accident, a lawsuit for damages from the work accident may be authorized. Thus, an employer in or near Riverside that intentionally removes required safety equipment because it slows down production processes may be sued for work injuries caused by that removal. Your Riverside work accident lawyer will be able to tell you if your case might entitle you to work injury damages in addition to workers' compensation benefits.

Third-Party Work Accident Cases

Another way that a work-injured employee might recover more damages than are available through the workers' compensation system is when the worker is involved in a work accident through the fault of someone other than the employer. This might happen when a delivery truck driver is hit by a car on a Riverside County highway, or when a salesperson slips and falls on an obstruction in a sales client's office. In these work accident cases, a suit against the third party may be brought even though the work-injured party is receiving benefits through the workers' compensation system.

The workers' compensation system may seek reimbursement of some of its payments if an employee is compensated for a work accident by a third-party. Still, the damages possible through a work accident suit against a third-party defendant may far outstrip those available through workers' compensation, as such work accident suits may yield damages not available through workers' compensation, such as damages for pain and suffering and for property damage. A competent Riverside work accident lawyer will know when a third-party claim should be pursued in addition to your workers' compensation claim, and will also work to help you keep as much payment as possible if a reduction in your workers' compensation benefits is sought.

Contact the Right Work Accident Lawyer

Employees injured in a work accident owe it to themselves not only to make a workers' compensation claim but also to seek the advice of a skilled Riverside work accident attorney. Qualified Riverside work accident lawyers can help determine if a third-party claim or a work injuries suit against the employer are advisable.

The Reeves Law Group has successfully handled thousands of personal injury claims. We have the resources and expertise needed to identify and litigate all available work injury claims, including third-party work accident claims, so that our Riverside-area clients receive the compensation and benefits to which they are entitled. While The Reeves Law Group handles only the third-party claims in work injury cases, we have close ties with well-established law firms specializing in workers' compensation cases, so we can make sure that our work accident clients are well represented, not only in their work injury related lawsuits but also in their workers' compensation claims. For a free consultation concerning a work-related injury, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.