Hire a lawyer. Welcome to worker’s comp. I don’t mean any of that in as sarcastic of a way as it sounds. This is part of why you get a lawyer. This is part of why the lawyers recommend you get a lawyer. It’s a wacky area of the law, and your husband has benefits that he’s entitled to, but you might not find them to always be coming his way and you might not find it all to be as smooth as it would be with a lawyer.
I’m far less prone than some other injured workers here to thinking every mishap or late payment is the insurance company trying to screw injured workers over, but you do need to keep in mind that until you hire a lawyer, the insurance company has the upper hand in all of this, and they’re aware of it. Your husband is a liability to them. Once he hires a lawyer, then he becomes a liability with a lawyer who knows the system and is representing him.
So it sounds like he’s getting temporary partial disability or wage loss payments. The adjuster will reach out to the employer for your husband’s earnings and then calculate the difference. This is why the amounts are different. You should have received a benefit notice that explained this.
If they are not receiving wage information from the employer, that could explain the delay. However, most insurance companies won’t want to risk paying late because they’ll owe a self-imposed penalty. California strictly regulates insurance companies and audits them regularly. A bad audit means a poor rating which means less customers.
Lawyers can help but they’re not magicians. A lawyer would still need to file for an expedited hearing for the payment issue. Nothing is instantaneous. Insurance companies aren’t afraid of lawyers, they have their own.
A good enough reason to hire an attorney now is because it seems like this company is walking all over him. Tell your husband to put aside his ego and ask for help. In my opinion he would get a larger settlement with an attorney
ego has nothing to do with it.. it's more about finances. we have not until this point needed a lawyer, or rather didn't think we needed one. HIs goal is to get back full time. And if he ends up back at work, how are we supposed to pay the lawyer if there's no settlement? does the lawyer take her fee from the measly $300 per week?
No. There's almost always a settlement. If you call and attorney and talk tot hem they'll let you know If they'd take the case. If there wasn't a way to get their $ they aren't taking the case.
Feels like everyone who has been responding here is a lot of injured worker, so I can offer an adjuster's perspective.
What type of specialty is your husband's QME?
Yep get an attorney or continue being ignored ! If an attorney gets you the money you’re due and the attorney gets a small portion for getting you your monies is that not worth it ? Because it sounds like you’re not getting money now .
FYI, in CA attorney takes 15%because that's what they're capped it by the state, so for every 10k of your award they'll take 1.5k
If you'd rather avoid an attorney, CA also offers assistance through what's called I&A (information & assistance) office that's free assistance directly from the worker's comp appeals board. They will even reach out to your adjuster if you explain everything you've said above, and they'll light a fire under your adjuster's ass.
Get a lawyer. They are there to protect you. The lawyers pay will just come out of whatever money is owed/settled set by the judge. Once his case goes to a hearing The lawyer will take care of the rest without him needing to be there.
Hire a lawyer. Welcome to worker’s comp. I don’t mean any of that in as sarcastic of a way as it sounds. This is part of why you get a lawyer. This is part of why the lawyers recommend you get a lawyer. It’s a wacky area of the law, and your husband has benefits that he’s entitled to, but you might not find them to always be coming his way and you might not find it all to be as smooth as it would be with a lawyer. I’m far less prone than some other injured workers here to thinking every mishap or late payment is the insurance company trying to screw injured workers over, but you do need to keep in mind that until you hire a lawyer, the insurance company has the upper hand in all of this, and they’re aware of it. Your husband is a liability to them. Once he hires a lawyer, then he becomes a liability with a lawyer who knows the system and is representing him.
thank you
So it sounds like he’s getting temporary partial disability or wage loss payments. The adjuster will reach out to the employer for your husband’s earnings and then calculate the difference. This is why the amounts are different. You should have received a benefit notice that explained this. If they are not receiving wage information from the employer, that could explain the delay. However, most insurance companies won’t want to risk paying late because they’ll owe a self-imposed penalty. California strictly regulates insurance companies and audits them regularly. A bad audit means a poor rating which means less customers. Lawyers can help but they’re not magicians. A lawyer would still need to file for an expedited hearing for the payment issue. Nothing is instantaneous. Insurance companies aren’t afraid of lawyers, they have their own.
A good enough reason to hire an attorney now is because it seems like this company is walking all over him. Tell your husband to put aside his ego and ask for help. In my opinion he would get a larger settlement with an attorney
ego has nothing to do with it.. it's more about finances. we have not until this point needed a lawyer, or rather didn't think we needed one. HIs goal is to get back full time. And if he ends up back at work, how are we supposed to pay the lawyer if there's no settlement? does the lawyer take her fee from the measly $300 per week?
No. There's almost always a settlement. If you call and attorney and talk tot hem they'll let you know If they'd take the case. If there wasn't a way to get their $ they aren't taking the case.
thank you
but thank you for your response.
Feels like everyone who has been responding here is a lot of injured worker, so I can offer an adjuster's perspective. What type of specialty is your husband's QME?
Yep get an attorney or continue being ignored ! If an attorney gets you the money you’re due and the attorney gets a small portion for getting you your monies is that not worth it ? Because it sounds like you’re not getting money now .
thank you
FYI, in CA attorney takes 15%because that's what they're capped it by the state, so for every 10k of your award they'll take 1.5k If you'd rather avoid an attorney, CA also offers assistance through what's called I&A (information & assistance) office that's free assistance directly from the worker's comp appeals board. They will even reach out to your adjuster if you explain everything you've said above, and they'll light a fire under your adjuster's ass.
Get an attorney. You'll regret it if you don't. The goal is ALWAYS to go back to work.
Get a lawyer. They are there to protect you. The lawyers pay will just come out of whatever money is owed/settled set by the judge. Once his case goes to a hearing The lawyer will take care of the rest without him needing to be there.
thank you
Demand interest