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If you have sustained an on-the-job injury in California, you will likely be able to recover benefits through workers’ compensation. However, you also need to know how quickly you will start receiving your compensation check. When it comes to workers’ compensation, there are a few types of benefits you may be able to receive. If you are waiting on a check, then it is likely your injury is severe enough to have kept you from working. The attorneys of DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo explain how long it could take to get your check.
There are legal timeframes employers and insurance carriers must meet when paying workers’ compensation benefits, or they could face monetary or legal penalties. This includes the time frames for receiving temporary disability benefits after and on-the-job injury.
Under Labor Code 4652, an injured employee typically must miss 3 days of work before they are eligible to receive temporary disability benefits. This is considered the “first three days of lost time, lost wages or wage loss.” If an employee sustains less than three days of lost wages, the employer typically has no responsibility or requirement under California law to pay an employee for this time.
If the injured employee does sustain more than three days of lost wages, then their benefits commence on the fourth day. However, there are some exceptions to the three-day waiting period for more severe injuries. If a person has been hospitalized as a result of the workplace injury, they are entitled to these temporary disability benefits starting on the first day of their hospitalization. Individuals who are disabled for more than 14 days because of the workplace injury will also get to disregard the three-day time frame.
Employers are required to send temporary disability payments to an eligible employee no later than 14 days after they learn of the workplace injury. This date is usually the day the employer receives notice of the injury from the employee. The first benefit payment an injured worker receives is supposed to include all of the benefits due over the waiting period.
If an injured worker misses two complete five-day work weeks but has a three-day waiting period, then their first benefit payment would include payment for seven missed days of work. However, if an injured worker is hospitalized or disabled for two weeks and it is likely that the disability will continue into another week, then the first benefit payment should include coverage of all missed days, with no waiting period included.
If you have been injured on the job but are struggling to recover compensation, we encourage you to reach out to an attorney. A workers’ compensation lawyer in Riverside can examine the facts of your case and help you understand your best options moving forward. It can be challenging to understand when you are owed compensation after a workplace injury occurs. We want to help clarify your rights and then help you stand up to any employer or insurance carrier who refuses to play by the rules.
If you are owed compensation after a workplace injury in Riverside, we want to help you secure the money you are entitled to.