You were very good at your job on the construction site in California, but a work injury has made it so you can no longer work. You have a long time until retirement and a family to take care of, so what can you do? You should immediately look into your rights and benefits from workers’ compensation in California. This may be just what you need to help your family and hold you over until you figure out what is next.
The Department of Industrial Relations explains that you may want to apply for temporary or permanent disability. Temporary benefits are for you if you cannot currently return to work, but you may eventually be able to. Permanent benefits are an option if you are not going to be able to return to work even after you have healed.
Temporary benefits
You can get benefits temporarily to help while you heal from your injury. These benefits can also continue if you are only able to return to work in a limited capacity. You will get two-thirds of your average pay per week in benefits, along with having your related medical care paid for through the system. There is a time limit on how long you can receive these benefits.
Permanent benefits
You can get this type of benefit if you have a lasting disability that was a result of your work injury. You can get partial benefits if you return to work but are unable to do the job that you used to do in full capacity. The pay rate is the same as for temporary benefits.
Your doctor will have the main say in which type of workers’ compensation benefits you can receive. The decision uses your doctor’s reports about your injury. Your doctor will have to provide proof and evidence of a serious disability that will require a long healing time or show that it will never go away to help you get long-term benefits.