[2injuries]

Well, this is a great web site. Learn alot so far. My situation is that I recieved a ligament tear in my right index finger while at work. I was dragged to about 5 doctors in a duration of about 9 months, while on light duty with only use of my left arm, because of my right index finger. Nobody knew what was going on with my finger. Finally after 10 months on light duty I was sent to a hand specialest and within 10 minutes of examination the doctor said that I had a right mcp ligament tear and needed surgery. Had surgery and all is well on my right hand, with mild pain when I use it. Now, for those 10 months that I was on light duty I ended up getting tendonitous in my left elbow and my nerve had moved to the outside of my elbow which is cutting off blood flow to my fingers when I bend my left elbow, now the doctor has been giving me injections in my left elbow but says that I might have to have surgery in my left elbow to get rid of the tendonitous and to relocate my nerve. my question is that do I get 2 settlements on each injury or do they combine the 2? and does any of this sound funny?

[BOR]

What does your WC attorney say? Do you have one? WC claims are different from an actual lawsuit for damages where only verified 1 complaint can be filed, meaning you can NOT split a cause of atcion.


You are entitled to be compensated for your "total" injuries. IF injuries surfaced that the original claim did not cover, that is another matter, so yes, this would be 2 seperate compenasble awards if proven. As long as the claim is "open" you can continue to file, law specific of course.


Consult an attorney who specializes in Worker's Compensation law. State WC laws are specific in nature, what one state permits, another state may not.

[2injuries]

I have two claims open with this case, one claim was open before the other. So I think your saying that I do get two settlements for this claim right? How long can I be on workers comp, I heard that this case or cases are only open for 2 years I'm coming up on 1 year and still might have to have surgery on my left elbow which with recovery will put me past 2 years. What happens then? And no I do not have an attorney, what for? My adjuster is really great and my doctor is one of the best in california. Is there something else that I should be worried about? Thanx again.

[BOR]

I have two claims open with this case, one claim was open before the other. So I think your saying that I do get two settlements for this claim right? How long can I be on workers comp, I heard that this case or cases are only open for 2 years I'm coming up on 1 year and still might have to have surgery on my left elbow which with recovery will put me past 2 years. What happens then? And no I do not have an attorney, what for? My adjuster is really great and my doctor is one of the best in california. Is there something else that I should be worried about? Thanx again.

You need to consult an attorney, if possible, to maximize any payments. If you do not care to that is up to you. Still, yes, I am saying that as long as injuries surface relating to the original claim, you can be compensated again. One payout on a workers compensation claim does generally not close it out.

You mention your "adjuster"? Is your company "self insured" under the WC laws? Does CA permit it? Some states permit an employer to self insure themselves and not pay directly into the state WC fund.

I would say the 2 year window closes from your last claim. Since the 1st was a year ago, that means it is still 2 years, not 1. This is just an online educated guess and may or may not apply. The only way to find out is if you file a claim and it is denied. If it is denied, you may have no recourse but to consult an attorney to find out if the law was applied correctly.

If you do not wish to consult an attorney, pay a visit to the library where they have the CA code. Find the WC laws and read up, inlcuding any applicable case law.

Good luck.

[2injuries]

You need to consult an attorney, if possible, to maximize any payments. If you do not care to that is up to you. Still, yes, I am saying that as long as injuries surface relating to the original claim, you can be compensated again. One payout on a workers compensation claim does generally not close it out.

You mention your "adjuster"? Is your company "self insured" under the WC laws? Does CA permit it? Some states permit an employer to self insure themselves and not pay directly into the state WC fund.

I would say the 2 year window closes from your last claim. Since the 1st was a year ago, that means it is still 2 years, not 1. This is just an online educated guess and may or may not apply. The only way to find out is if you file a claim and it is denied. If it is denied, you may have no recourse but to consult an attorney to find out if the law was applied correctly.

If you do not wish to consult an attorney, pay a visit to the library where they have the CA code. Find the WC laws and read up, inlcuding any applicable case law.

Good luck.

Thanks for getting back, I wanted to ask what would a lawyer do that I can't, I know never to take the first offer from the insurance co, what would they do that I can't, really I want to know, I fell that they will only do so much to get there cut of it. I also read in this forum that someone was getting payment over the rest of their life, for like 42 years. Do insurance companies really pay like that, they were estimating that if the injured workmens comp person was making 25 dollars an hour that that would work out to be $500,000 over the next 42 years, I guess it would depend on the seriousness of the injury. what do you think? How do they pay out and really is it enough money to live on and what if you can't get another job because they ask on the application if I had a workmens comp claim and they don't hire me? There so much to think of. Well thanks agian please try to respond.
2injuries

[BOR]

Thanks for getting back, I wanted to ask what would a lawyer do that I can't, I know never to take the first offer from the insurance co, what would they do that I can't, really I want to know, I fell that they will only do so much to get there cut of it.

They are skilled in navigating the law to maximize any award and to see your rights are "fully protected".

I also read in this forum that someone was getting payment over the rest of their life, for like 42 years. Do insurance companies really pay like that, they were estimating that if the injured workmens comp person was making 25 dollars an hour that that would work out to be $500,000 over the next 42 years, I guess it would depend on the seriousness of the injury. what do you think? How do they pay out and really is it enough money to live on and what if you can't get another job because they ask on the application if I had a workmens comp claim and they don't hire me? There so much to think of. Well thanks agian please try to respond.
2injuries

This is why it is the best course of action to hire counsel, IF you are entitled to such lifetime award due to a permanent injury, say, and you negotiate the claim yourself for less, you may not be aware the law permits this and then you may be out of luck and would sorely regret it.

WC attorney's generally offer a FREE case evaluation. You may want to take advantage of it and see what one has to offer to represent you.

In some lawsuits the amount of claimed damages is = to potential lifetime earnings, yes, per your example.

Best of luck.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Thanks for getting back, I wanted to ask what would a lawyer do that I can't, I know never to take the first offer from the insurance co, what would they do that I can't, really I want to know, I fell that they will only do so much to get there cut of it. I also read in this forum that someone was getting payment over the rest of their life, for like 42 years. Do insurance companies really pay like that, they were estimating that if the injured workmens comp person was making 25 dollars an hour that that would work out to be $500,000 over the next 42 years, I guess it would depend on the seriousness of the injury. what do you think? How do they pay out and really is it enough money to live on and what if you can't get another job because they ask on the application if I had a workmens comp claim and they don't hire me? There so much to think of. Well thanks agian please try to respond.
2injuries

The person who is getting payment over the rest of their life quite probably suffered a severe injury from which they will never recover that resulted in "whole body" injury/disability(probably a spine injury), or a severe injury to other body parts that would likewise prevent them from working at their prior capacity. They have reached a medical endpoint(MMI - maximum medical inprovement) and their injury is such that they can never return to what they were doing, and may only be able to perform a minimum wage job now. If I remember correctly, this person was a master plumber in IL, and the difference between their old to new wage was $25/hr. I was the person who responded to them. I was concerned that they were going to be offered a lump sum settlement and I wanted them to get an attorney before accepting an insurance company's offer to settle their claim in one lump sum payment. I estimated the value of what their lump sum settlement offer would be based upon, so that they would have an idea that they need an attorney in such large financial and health matters.

The above referenced person's case is in IL. Every state has different WC laws, and many have limits on the amount of compensation that will be paid regarding both timeframes and the part of the body injured. And while I don't wish to be negative, I doubt an elbow and finger injury is going to result in you being permanently disabled to the degree this person was.

Future employment problems such as not getting hired because of prior WC claims are not addressed by WC. These are ADA, EEO, etc matters. And for what its worth, WC claims rarely make it "worthwhile" to be injured. The reality is that many severely and permanently injured workers "fall through the cracks" later on in the ADA and SS disability systems, and simply go on to make far less during their lifetimes than they would have if they had simply never been injured. WC is rarely a windfall.