Torrance Factory Worker Accident Lawyer

Factories are incredibly important components of the economy of the United States as a whole. However, they are also some of the most dangerous workplaces for anyone, and factory workers account for a large share of the injured workers reported throughout the country each year. Unfortunately, many injured factory workers are not fully aware of the recovery options available to them in this situation and how they can recover from the losses resulting from their injuries.

Responsive Legal Counsel for Factory Worker Accident Claims in Torrance

Although modern factories are outfitted with cutting-edge equipment and technology designed for maximum efficiency and safety, any factory can still present countless risks of injury to workers in all positions. If you or a loved one recently suffered an acute traumatic injury from factory work, developed an illness you believe happened from exposure to certain substances in your factory workplace, or if you developed any type of medical condition, repetitive stress injury, or soft tissue damage from work, you have the right to claim workers’ compensation benefits under California law.

The team at the Pratt Law Corporation routinely represents injured workers in their efforts to secure workers’ compensation benefits and recover as fully as possible from the injuries they suffered at work. We take time to develop individually tailored legal strategies for each client we represent. We also take the time to get to know our clients and learn the full range of effects their experiences have had on their lives. This enables us to deliver truly client-focused and compassionate legal counsel in every case we accept.

Proving Responsibility for Factory Worker Accidents in Torrance

One common misconception about workers’ compensation is that the injured worker needs to prove fault to file their claim. The reality is that any injury that occurs while the worker is performing their job duties should be covered by their employer’s insurance policy, even if the employee caused the injury. However, there are some exceptions to this, and every insurance carrier enforces different policies when it comes to which injuries they will cover and what would disqualify a claimant from receiving compensation.

Typically, the two most common reasons an insurance company will cite as justification to deny a claim are egregious negligence and intentional misconduct. If the injured worker caused their own injury because they were working while under the influence of alcohol, this can easily leave the injured worker unable to file a workers’ compensation claim, and they would face the economic impact of their injury on their own. Additionally, any employee who injures themselves through a direct and willful violation of their employer’s workplace safety rules could be fired as well.

While an injured factory worker does not necessarily need to establish fault to file their workers’ compensation claim, they do need to prove they were performing their job duties in good faith. If they caused their own injury through an honest mistake or simple negligence, it would be unlikely for the insurance company to push back much against their claim. However, there is always a chance for an injured factory worker to encounter unexpected and even unjustified resistance to their claim. Therefore, it is always best to have an experienced Torrance factory worker accident attorney assist you with your claim if you want the best possible determination of benefits from the insurance carrier.

How to File a Workers’ Compensation Claim for a Factory Accident Injury

Filing your claim for workers’ compensation benefits after a factory accident in Torrance, CA will mirror the process you would expect with any other type of insurance claim. However, you do face an additional complication with your insurance claim in the form of your employer’s involvement. Every employer in California must have appropriate workers’ compensation insurance coverage and meet various legal obligations in facilitating injured workers’ claims.

If you are hurt while working, you must report the injury to your supervisor as soon as possible and promptly seek medical treatment. If your injury is serious, this will likely unfold naturally in response to your accident, but some injured workers believe they can handle their injuries on their own. Your supervisor is then required to document the injury in a formal incident report and provide the injured worker with the claim forms and any other materials they may need to file their claim for benefits.

The insurance company must review the claim’s legitimacy, and part of their investigation will entail questions for the employer, the injured employee, and a report from a local workers’ compensation physician. If you are hurt in a factory accident, you have the right to seek medical care in an emergency from any available doctor, but once you stabilize, you will likely need to visit a physician approved by your employer’s insurance carrier.

A workers’ compensation physician will assess the scope and severity of the injured workers’ medical condition and assign them a disability rating. This rating indicates how serious their injury is in terms of the long-term or permanent harm it caused. For example, any factory worker who suffers a catastrophic injury leaving them completely unable to work will have a much higher disability rating than a worker expected to make a full recovery with minimal long-term damage.

Once the insurance company has the medical report from the workers’ compensation doctor and has completed their review of the details of your injury, they must deliver a determination of benefits that aligns with your employer’s policy. This process may sound straightforward, but many injured factory workers encounter a host of problems in their efforts to recover from their workplace injuries. Remember that an insurance company has no incentive to pay out a maximum compensation settlement, and insurance company representatives are trained to look for reasons to deny claims or justify lowball settlement offers.

Benefits Available Through Workers’ Compensation

Any factory accident injury can cause a wide range of issues for the victim and their family, from generating expensive medical bills to further economic strain from the inability to work and earn income. Workers’ compensation aims to offset these damages for injured workers while shielding their employers from civil liability for their employees’ injuries. Most injured workers can expect full medical expense coverage for their workplace injuries, and many will qualify for ongoing disability benefits.

In California, it’s possible for an injured worker to receive ongoing disability benefits for up to 104 weeks in most cases, but they can elect to have their payments spread out over a five-year term if necessary. These ongoing disability benefits are meant to account for the wages victims cannot earn while they recover. Most claimants will qualify for up to two-thirds of their average weekly wages in ongoing benefits. For example, if you earned about $1,000 per week on average before your accident, you could receive about $750 in ongoing disability benefits until you are able to return to work.

Some claimants may be able to continue working while they recover from their injuries, but those injuries prevent them from earning as much income. Partial disability benefits could be made available when earning power has been diminished by a workplace injury, but the claimant is still able to perform gainful activity. In the event a claimant is left completely disabled and unable to resume any type of substantial gainful activity, permanent disability benefits may come into play, but most insurance carriers try to avoid these arrangements with large lump-sum offers.

Your Torrance factory worker accident attorney will be a crucial asset when it comes to proving how your accident happened and determining the full scope of the recovery options available to you. When you choose the Pratt Law Corporation to represent you, our team will carefully examine the scope of the problems your injury has caused, assess whether any party or parties bear specific fault for causing your injury, and determine what type of compensation you can expect from your employer’s insurance policy. In addition, our team has extensive professional experience with workers’ compensation claims, and we know how to encourage an insurance company to process a claim quickly and in good faith.

Slip and Fall Injuries in Factories

Slip and fall accidents are some of the most commonly reported workplace accidents in all industries, but they are especially common in fields like construction and manufacturing. Many of the factories operating throughout the United States are very large facilities constructed to meet specific production standards. As a result, many factory personnel in the Torrance area must not only navigate large complex structures and high spaces in some factory settings but also use devices like ladders, lifts, and scaffolds to navigate their work areas.

A slip and fall could happen because of simple negligence, or a specific safety hazard may cause this type of accident. For example, it’s possible for a factory worker to suffer a slip and fall due to their own carelessness or inattention, but it is also possible for this type of injury to occur as the result of the employer’s failure to implement and/or enforce appropriate workplace safety standards.

Any slip and fall can potentially cause broken bones, spinal cord injuries, or traumatic brain damage. The height and location of the fall determine the severity of the victim’s resulting injuries, and many fall victims sustain acute trauma that is painful and difficult to treat. In the event a specific party caused your fall injury, you could have the right to pursue further legal action beyond your workers’ compensation claim.

Repetitive Motion Injuries

Many factory workers operate specific types of machinery and perform the same manual movements for every shift at work. Over time, repetitive motion will take a toll on the body, and the worker could experience a wide range of problems as a result. For example, carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the most commonly reported work-related repetitive stress injuries in the United States. This condition causes symptoms of arthritis in the hands and wrists and is common among those who perform fine motor functions with their hands and fingers each day at work. Typing is one of the most commonly cited causes of this condition.

It can be difficult to prove that repetitive motion injuries resulted from work. However, it is important if you believe your condition is the direct result of your job duties that you speak with an attorney as soon as possible about your options for addressing it. They can help you determine the best method of proving that your condition resulted from performing your job duties. For example, they could coordinate with a medical professional to provide a detailed explanation of the most likely causes of your condition, and this may be what you need to prove your repetitive motion condition is directly work-related.

Vehicle and Equipment Accidents

Many factory workers use pallet loaders, forklifts, conveyor belts, fabrication machines, and various other forms of potentially dangerous equipment and vehicles designed for use on factory floors. As a result, vehicle accidents can happen in various ways, resulting in crushing injuries, injuries from collisions, and more. It’s also possible for the manufacturing equipment used in many factory operations to malfunction or for an operator to suffer an injury because of negligent upkeep of the machine or a defective component.

In the event another party’s negligence caused this type of injury, the victim may have grounds for a personal injury case in addition to their workers’ compensation claim. In most cases, an employer’s insurance protects them from facing civil liability for an injured worker’s losses. However, there are several possible exceptions to this rule, and the fault may also be on a third party outside the workplace.

Many factory employees work with delivery personnel, vendors, subcontractors, utility workers, inspectors, and various other third parties. These parties do not have the same immunity to civil claims as your employer does with their insurance policy. If any third party caused a factory accident that injured you, you can proceed with a workers’ compensation claim and file a civil suit against the party who caused the accident.

Can I File a Lawsuit With My Workers’ Compensation Claim in Torrance?

Having legal counsel you can trust is crucial to your best chance of success with a workers’ compensation claim in Torrance. When you choose the Pratt Law Corporation to handle your case, we can also help with a subsequent personal injury claim. If your employer does not have workers’ compensation insurance as required by state law, you can proceed directly with a personal injury claim against them, and you could have grounds for legal recourse if they engage in any illegal retaliation against your legitimate claim.

If a third party caused your factory accident, you could file your workers’ compensation claim since the injury occurred at work, but the defendant would not be protected from civil liability under your employer’s insurance policy. This means you can seek accountability for all the remaining losses that your workers’ compensation benefits do not cover. Therefore, a third-party personal injury claim could significantly increase the total recovery you obtain after a serious factory accident.

Success with a personal injury claim requires proving how the accident happened and identifying the party or parties who caused it. In addition, your attorney can gather witness statements and physical evidence to prove fault for your injury and assist you in solidifying your claim for damages.

Damages Available in Your Personal Injury Claim

California law allows the plaintiff of any personal injury claim to seek full repayment of all the economic damages they suffered because of the defendant’s actions. Therefore, your workers’ compensation claim can likely secure the coverage you need for your medical expenses, and your employer’s insurance company should compensate the cost of any and all the medical care you require to reach maximum medical improvement. However, your claim will only provide a portion of your lost income and only for a limited time.

Your Torrance factory worker accident attorney can help you secure the remainder of your lost income that your employer’s insurance doesn’t cover. In addition, if you are unable to return to your job due to the severity of your injury, your attorney can help you hold the defendant accountable for your lost earning capacity as well.

State law also allows you to claim pain and suffering compensation from a defendant in a personal injury case. There is no limit to the amount you can seek for a factory accident injury, but many people wonder how they can assign a monetary value to intangible losses like physical pain and psychological distress. An experienced attorney will help their client determine appropriate pain and suffering compensation to seek from a defendant based on their client’s overall economic losses and whether they face long-term or permanent harm from the accident in question.

Comparative Fault in a Personal Injury Case

Fault is a common topic of dispute in many workplace injury cases. While it is not always necessary to prove fault for a workplace injury to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits, an injured worker could potentially negate their eligibility to file a claim due to their own negligence. While many workers unintentionally injure themselves through general negligence, some engage in egregiously negligent or intentionally harmful behavior. Horseplay at work, working under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or flagrant violations of workplace safety rules are just a few examples of situations in which an injured employee can negate their eligibility to file a claim for compensation.

Your Torrance factory worker accident attorney can address any claims that you caused your injury yourself. If you know you do bear some level of liability for the incident in question, your attorney can still help you assert your eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits through a careful review of the terms of your employer’s policy. However, if you pursue a personal injury claim of any kind against the party who injured you, any comparative fault you bear will have a direct impact on the outcome of your civil case.

When a plaintiff in a personal injury case bears partial liability for causing the damages they have included in their claim, they lose a percentage of their final case award that corresponds to their percentage of fault for causing the incident in question. For example, if you file a personal injury claim against another party for $500,000, but an investigation shows that you are 10% at fault for causing your damages, this will mean losing $50,000 of your case award.

A personal injury claim in tandem with your workers’ compensation claim can substantially improve your final recovery if you succeed, but it is more challenging to succeed with a personal injury action than it is to secure workers’ compensation benefits. However, for both of these recovery efforts, you have the best chance of reaching the results you hope to see when you have experienced legal representation advising you throughout your case.

An experienced legal team can be invaluable for every stage of your recovery after a serious factory accident in the Torrance area. The Pratt Law Corporation has helped many Torrance clients recover more fully than they expected from their workplace injuries, and we are often able to identify avenues of recovery our clients had overlooked on their own.

When you choose our firm to represent you in your recovery efforts after a factory accident, we will gather whatever evidence you may need to prove how your injury happened, who is responsible, and whether your employer has met all applicable legal obligations. If you have suffered because of a regulatory violation or failure to uphold workplace safety rules, we can help you ensure your employer’s accountability. If direct and intentional misconduct caused the accident, we could also advise you how to address this.

Time is a crucial consideration for anyone considering filing a workers’ compensation claim and/or personal injury claim soon. If you need experienced legal counsel to assist you in your recovery, contact the Pratt Law Corporation today and schedule your consultation with a Torrance factory worker accident attorney.