Lawyer Monthly Magazine - February 2020 Edition

a year and is still not getting any better, I may advise them to consider applying for Social Security Disability Insurance and will refer them to an attorney who practices in that area. The California Applicant Attorney Association’s Women’s Caucus put together a Community Resource Guide (CRG) that contains resources for every county in the state. Those resources include financial assistance, housing assistance and transportation assistance. I often print out resources from the CRG for our clients to help them access food stamps and temporary financial assistance to pay utility bills and rent. What is a third-party lawsuit? How are they different in these situations? Third party cases typically involve someone other than an employer; for example, another driver in a work-related motor vehicle accident. When we meet with new clients, we review the facts of their cases to ascertain whether there is a third-party civil action outside the realm of workers’ compensation. Several of my third-party cases are sexual harassment cases and sexual assault cases. When an employer commits a tort against an employee such as sexual harassment and sexual assault, it’s both a workers’ compensation case and a civil case. Most of my third-party cases are referrals to me by civil attorneys, so that we can work together towards the best interest of our client in both the workers’ compensation case and the third-party case. What are common issues you are faced with in workers’ compensation law? I face two common issues in this area of law. The first is getting my clients medical care. Ninety nine percent of the time the reason someone walks through our door looking for representation is because they cannot get medical care. The second is inequality. We see gender bias, racial bias, and age bias in workers’ compensation. It’s in medical reporting, it’s in the treatment of our workers within the system. LM In general, what can be covered by workers’ compensation? Five types of benefits can be covered by workers’ compensation. First, and most crucial, is medical treatment; second, temporary disability benefits compensate an injured worker for loss of pay when they are unable to return to their usual and customary work duties; the third is vocational rehabilitation benefits- however, for injuries after 2013, these are limited to a $6,000 voucher for training and up to $5,000 in cash from the state’s Return to Work Fund, subject to certain regulatory requirements. The fourth benefit is permanent partial disability payments once an injured worker has reached a point of “maximum medical improvement” and receives a disability rating by a physician. Fifth and finally, death benefits may be payable to the dependents of a deceased worker. What are employees to do when workers’ compensation is not enough? Honestly, workers’ compensation is never enough. Temporary disability benefits only last 104 weeks. If a client requires surgery, this time runs down quickly. We refer our injured workers to the Employment Development Department (EDD) to apply for State Disability Benefits (SDI). SDI benefits are limited to 52 weeks and by the amount that was contributed from the paycheck of the injured worker during the five to 18 months prior to the date of injury. A study done by the Job Accommodation Network found that an injured worker is 50% less likely to return to work after the 12th week of leave. Many of my clients are out much longer than that. If I see that a client has been out of work at least 53 FEB 2020 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM An Interview With “Honestly, workers’ compensation is never enough. Temporary disability benefits only last 104 weeks. If a client requires surgery, this time runs down quickly.”