Nancy J. Wallace, Attorney at Law

CAUTION!!! Seeing the wrong doctor can end all benefits.

• Talk to someone experienced with Inland Empire,  L.A. County and Orange County doctors.

• Talking to a law office in Long Beach won't get you to an effective doctor in the Inland Empire.
  

• Watch out for counselors who send you to a chiropractor when you need an Orthopedic Surgeon.

• Do NOT count on an insurer's 'Nurse' (or the adjuster) to get you a fair doctor!!

 Did you know...

1. Your employer can send you to doctors who write lies about you? 

2. Your employer can send you to clinics where you are seeing someone who isn't a real doctor?

3. Picking a doctor 'blindly' from a list will often result in a report stating you were never injured on the job??

And did you know... 

1.   Most Injuries reported after your job ends are not compensible!

BE SMART:   Don't phone it in. 

That fax report is your witness proving the date and time the employer got your injury claim.

SEE YOUR DR. ASAP:  One exception to the claim being non-compensible is to report the injury to a physician BEFORE you are let go.  The work-origin of the injury should be in the doctor's notes.

PROBLEM:  Trouble is, most doctors won't write in your chart that your injury is work-related (because your private insurance won't cover a work injury). 

NOTE:   Limping around the job site wincing in pain and telling co-workers your job makes you hurt is NOT reporting a work injury. 

WARNING!   Limping around and phoning in sick will likely convince your employer to fire you before you report the pain as a work-related injury. 

Wait too long, wait until you are laid off or let go, and your claim is not compensible.

2.  One-Year Deadline!

You have one year from the date of the injury to report that injury to your employer...so long as you still work there.

The longer you wait, the more likely the insurer thinks you are making it all up.

The longer you wait, the harder it will be to prove you are telling the truth.

3.  Afraid to report your work injury because you'll be fired?  You're protected.

Labor Code 132(a) provides for penalties against Employers who terminate people for reporting a work injury.  

Employers who terminate people right after they report a work injury get to hire an expensive lawyer, and then explain to a judge why they fired a worker right after that worker reported the work injury.

But Injured Workers who wait until AFTER they are laid-off or fired cannot go forward.

Be Smart. Get REAL Workers' Compensation help.

A Certified Specialist

Nancy Wallace has been a  Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law since 1994.