Riverside Workers’ Compensation Lawyers for Police Officers
Fighting for the Rights of Injured Police and Other Peace Officers in Riverside
Police officers put their lives on the line every day to help the rest of us sleep easy. There are countless ways in which police can suffer an injury on the job, from exposure to smoke and harmful chemicals to violent acts by criminal elements. The police deserve appropriate legal protections for the risks they voluntarily confront in order to keep all of us safe.
Police officers, like all other workers, are covered by California’s workers’ compensation law.
The police also benefit from special rules befitting their enhanced job risk and import. At Ochoa & Calderón, we fight for the rights of injured cops to ensure they get the medical care they need and the benefits they deserve.
If you were injured while working as a peace officer, or your loved one is a policeman or policewoman who suffered a fatal injury or illness on the job, you are entitled to workers’ comp protection. The zealous workers’ compensation lawyers at Ochoa & Calderón are ready to fight for the benefits that you and your family deserve. You put yourself in harm’s way for the community, and the community owes you for your service.
Special Benefits for Injured Police Officers
California’s workers’ compensation law guarantees workers injured on the job the right to collect workers’ comp benefits. All workers are entitled to some combination of coverage for their medical bills and related costs, a portion of their lost wages as temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits, and job retraining costs (supplemental job displacement benefits).
Police officers can collect the usual workers’ comp benefits after a work-related injury, but they are also granted certain additional perks. Police get two benefits not available to other injured workers:
Full Salary for Injured Police
Most injured workers can recover two-thirds of their salary as temporary disability benefits. California law grants police officers special compensation for a work-related injury. Instead of receiving the two-thirds wage disability benefits, police officers can receive their full salary for up to one year so long as they are unable to work because of an on-the-job injury.
Presumption of Workplace Injury for Injured Police
Workers who are injured in a traumatic accident can typically seek workers’ comp coverage without much hassle. Cumulative injuries and diseases that are caused by workplace tasks or exposure are also covered by workers’ comp, but they are more difficult to prove. Workers must show that their illness or cumulative injury was actually caused by their workplace duties. Police officers, however, are afforded a special “benefit of the doubt.” Workers’ comp law presumes that certain conditions suffered by police officers are caused by their job, including:
- Cancer
- Pneumonia
- Meningitis
- Heart trouble
- Hernia
- Blood-borne infectious diseases
- Lyme disease
- Lower back injuries
- Exposure to biological weapons
- Tuberculosis
The presumption of coverage not only gives officers a leg up when applying for benefits based on one of these conditions; it also prevents “apportionment.” Apportionment may occur when a condition is preexisting but was exacerbated on the job, or when a worker suffers from multiple injuries and only some are work-based. The workers’ comp insurance carrier may reduce the employee’s workers’ comp benefits by some percentage to only cover that which was actually caused by the job.
For police officers suffering from one of the listed conditions, however, even if they have a pre-existing condition, there should be no apportionment. If you were injured on the job while serving your community, a zealous workers’ comp lawyer at Ochoa & Calderón can help you build the strongest case for maximum compensation.
Our Riverside Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Are Ready to Help the Police Recover the Workers’ Comp Benefits They Are Owed
For help getting benefits after an on-the-job injury or workplace illness, call Ochoa & Calderón to discuss your case with a seasoned and dedicated California workers’ comp lawyer. Call 951-901-4444 in Riverside or 844-401-0750 toll-free throughout Southern California.
