The California workers comp laws are in place to make sure that any employee injured in an accident at work is financially compensated for any losses or hurt caused by that accident.

The amount received  as settlement in a successful working men’s compensation case is based on several factors. These will include compensation for the illness or injury sustained while working including medical bills, the amount in salary lost because of illness or injury and also future wage checks likely to be lost.

Of course no one goes to work thinking, or of course hoping, they will be injured but unfortunately accidents do happen and it is comforting to know that the workers compensation laws are there to protect and to help us.

The main tenet of these laws is that every employee working in California, whether he lives in the state or not, must be covered by workers compensation insurance.  And that insurance must be provided by the employer.  These laws apply to every company regardless of size or number of employees.

Employers are entitled to purchase their California workers comp insurance cover from whichever broker they wish but, and this is very important, the employer must pay all the costs of the policy.  They cannot ask their employees to contribute towards the cost of the insurance policy.

Although there are many brokers and insurance companies offering workers compensation insurance a large number of companies will choose to buy their policies from the State Compensation Insurance Fund that was established in the first half of the twentieth century.

Although some employers resent the need to have any workers compensation insurance they do benefit from the California workers comp laws.

By having valid insurance they remove the prospect of long, and expensive, legal battles with their employees and it also removes the confrontational nature of a worker making a claim against his boss.  In California workers compensation claims are decided on a ‘no blame’ basis which protects the employer against prohibitive civil action.

However, just because the system is decided to make claims easy if you are injured at work there are things you must do to ensure that you receive a pay out.

The first is to gather the evidence needed to support your claim.  The first thing that should be done is to report the accident in the correct manner to the company.  Make sure the details are logged by the company immediately after the incident or as soon as possible.  Write down exactly what happened and gather written testimony from any witnesses; make sure these statements are dated and signed.  Take photographs of any injuries and, if you are able, make sure you get photographs of the accident scene.

If necessary take all this evidence to a workers compensation lawyer who will present your case and ensure you receive the maximum payout.  You can find lawyers from the phone book or the internet.

In the rare case where an employer disputes a California workers comp claim a good lawyer will be invaluable to you.