California Ranked Third Lowest for Workers Compensation Benefits

SACRAMENTO – The Sacramento Bee reports that California rounds out the bottom three states when it comes to Workers Compensation benefits. Ironically (or not), a CNBC study conversely ranks California the 6th most expensive state to live in.

The report was published last week by the Workers Compensation Research Institute and the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards Commissions. The study sought to determine disparities between states when it comes to Workers Compensation in all forms. Canada was also included in the analysis alongside US states.

Among California benefits, the largest gap is seen in the area of “permanent partial” disabilities, which tends to garner the most attention of  political debates on the issue, given it is the largest strain on the Workers Compensation funding allocation.

Workers Compensation runs off a pool of employer funding to offer protection for employees in the event of on-the-job-injury. The advantage of Workers Comp over relying on litigation-based compensation, is that employees no longer need to prove negligence (or rather, that the employer was at-fault), which could be an extremely difficult task. Additionally, before the adoption of Workers Compensation programs starting in 1901, US courts were being overwhelmed with Workers Compensation cases, so the program was a relief on the Judicial system.

The disadvantage of Workers Comp is that it creates a ceiling for the amount of money that injured employees have available to them. In the case of California, for “partial permanent” injuries, this dollar figure is $290.00 per week. By comparison, weekly benefits can be as much as $1,419.00 in Iowa and $1441.80 in Washington, D.C.

If you have been injured on the job in Orange County or elsewhere in California and are facing a lifetime of disability, a good Workers Compensation lawyer can help you get the reparations your injury deserves. There are still specific conditions which allow victims to collect additional compensation over that provided through the Workers Comp program.

For a free, no obligation evaluation of your case, contact my offices today through our online form or by calling us at (949)586-6682. We will work with you in deciding the best course of action for your case, in a no-stress, no-obligation environment.