My question involves workers compensation law for the state of: CA
Scenario:
An employee tripped over a broken floor at work and reported this immediately to management (yes, there is a witness besides any surveillance footage that might remain on file). Management sent the employee back to work. Additional pain developed while under medical examination for pre-existing pain a couple of month later. The incident was a month prior to the employee’s health insurance becoming active through work. Since not any of the managers sent the employee to company doctors (yes, they are state WC insured), the employee kept to current doctors under the employee’s health insurance.
The pre-existing pain may also be work related, but is not an incidental or accidental matter. It is believed to have developed over time from repeated negligence by management. Management did not send the employee to company doctors then either, but the source of that pain is still under investigation.
Tripping over the floor has definite work relation and is certainly an aggravator to any pre-existing stress.
The pre-existing pain first developed in June last year and reported a couple of months later when the pain returned. Tripping over the floor happened in December last year. Employee’s health insurance became active this past January. The employee has had x-rays and MRIs. Reports do find mild damage along the spine and disks of the employee’s upper back, including small disk protrusions in a few consecutive disks and a bone lesion or benign bone tumor inside a vertebra just below these protrusions.
Only in May this year did management offer Worker’s comp and send the employee to company doctors. The employee began to fill out the forms, but then stopped when the employee noticed extra forms asking to identify evidence in detail. The employee acknowledged the attempt by management, but declined at that time until they could speak with the store manager and possibly an attorney. Given complaints involve management the employee does not want to disclose evidence information to management.
This employee has lost a great amount of time from work, at least a few checks worth of pay, plus out-of-pocket medical expenses. The employee has also experienced ongoing retaliation and negligence by management ever since reporting a labor law violation to a member of management and approved for compensation of time missed from the night the violation occurred. This happened shortly after the employee began working at this store in 2012.
Clearly, management is in violation for not reporting the floor incident and for not asking the employee if they wanted to see company doctors. The manager the employee reported the incident to has since twice accused the employee of making threats without any cause for reason. The employee did report this behavior directly to the store manager. The manager making the accusations continues to be the direct manager for the employee’s area and some members of lower management continue to neglect doctor restrictions on file.
This should have been a worker’s compensation case, (maybe it still is? I am not familiar with it), but since it has been so long what kind of recourse is available to the employee?
Just to note, someone contacted OSHA in regards to the broken floor a couple of weeks ago. Within days the floor was finally fixed. The employee does have photographs.

