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If you are a restaurant employee who suffers a workplace injury, you have the right to recover workers’ compensation benefits. If you want to know more about what types of compensation you are entitled to, or you simply want to better understand the importance of workers’ compensation for restaurant staff, you should get help from one of our workers’ compensation lawyers today.
What Do Workers’ Compensation Benefits Cover?
When working in the restaurant industry, there are numerous workplace hazards that you could face on any given shift. For example, kitchen staff often come in close contact with sharp knives. No matter the reason for your injury, if you are injured in the workplace, you are entitled to recover workers’ compensation benefits related to your injury. Restaurant owners, like other business owners, must carry workers’ compensation insurance.
Workers’ compensation will cover:
Lost Wages from Time Missing Work
There are several different lost wage benefits you can recover, depending on the specifics of your injury, which we will detail here.
Temporary Disability Benefits
You can receive temporary disability benefits if you are unable to work for a certain period of time. These benefits pay out approximately 66 percent of your lost wages while your injuries keep you out of work. You can receive either temporary partial disability benefits (TPD) or temporary total disability (TTD) benefits.
These benefits are available if your doctor says you cannot do your usual job for at least three days/you were hospitalized overnight due to your injury, and your employer does not offer you other work that you are able to handle.
If you are able to do some work while recovering, you can recover temporary partial disability benefits. If you cannot work at all, you can recover temporary total disability benefits.
Certain factors can affect how much you receive in temporary disability benefits after a restaurant injury:
- Whether you had a second job when your injury occurred
- Whether you did seasonal work
- Whether you received a raise that was scheduled to take effect after your injury occurred
- Whether your wages regularly rose and fell
- Whether you had other lost income (e.g., bonuses, a car or housing allowance, overtime, or tips)
- When you were injured (the minimum and maximum TD amounts change regularly)
Note: If you make less than the minimum weekly amount, you could recover more than two-thirds of your regular wages.
Permanent Disability Benefits
Permanent disability benefits are available if your injury or illness permanently affects your ability to work. You can receive either permanent partial disability or permanent total disability benefits. You can receive permanent disability benefits even if you are able to go back to work.
Your permanent disability benefits total will be determined by several factors:
- When you were injured
- Your wages before you were injured
- Your disability rating
- If your employer offers you work that you are able to perform with your disability
Your disability rating, an estimate of how disabling your injuries are, relies on:
- The date you were injured
- Your age when your injury occurred
- Your profession (when your injury occurred)
- Your illness or injury
- What percentage of your injury or illness resulted from your work vs. outside factors (called apportionment)
- Your multiplier, which your attorney can explain
If you are rated 100 percent, you have a permanent total disability.
Your disability rating is a huge part of determining what you will receive. Once your doctor determines that your condition will not improve or get worse (you have reached “maximal medical improvement”), your doctor will draft a P&S report. A permanent and stationary (P&S) report will detail:
- Your injuries and issues (e.g., your level of pain, your range of motion)
- Your work restrictions
- Any future medical care you will need
- Whether you can return to your job or not
- What percentage of your disability was a result of your work, and what percentage was a result of other factors
Your doctor will send this report to the claims administrator. You can and should request a copy of this report.
If you disagree with your report, you can challenge it.
Medical Care
Your medical care related to your injury or illness should be covered. This could include:
- Emergency care
- Surgeries
- Wound debriding
- Burn care
- Treatment for lacerations, broken bones, or head injuries
- Future medical care
- Assistive devices
Supplemental Job Displacement Benefits
You may be able to receive a voucher for education-related retraining or skill enhancement. A lawyer can determine whether you qualify for this voucher.
You could also qualify for the Return-to-Work Supplement Program (RTWSP), which provides a one-time benefit for a loss of earnings.
Our team can establish whether you qualify for this benefit.
Death Benefits
If you lost a loved one due to a restaurant injury, you may be entitled to benefits. These could include:
- Reasonable funeral and burial costs
- Support payments
These benefits can help you stay afloat while you recover or grieve your loved one.
Your employer must provide benefits for anything that occurs due to a workplace injury. If they do not, they are breaking the law. If you believe your employer is not properly compensating you or an insurance company is unfairly denying your claim, you can seek legal assistance from our firm.
Facts About Workers’ Compensation in California
If you have never had to file for workers’ compensation, you may be unaware of how the system works. California law is very strict when it comes to workers’ compensation benefits. You must understand your rights as a restaurant worker to seek financial recovery after your injury.
Your Employer Must Provide Workers’ Compensation Benefits
If your employer claims that you do not qualify for workers’ compensation, or if they state that they do not need to provide you with benefits, you can work with a workers’ compensation attorney. According to California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), all business owners with one or more employees must provide workers’ compensation insurance coverage.
If you are a seasonal worker or any other type of part-time employee, you are still covered by workers’ compensation insurance.
If your employer does not have workers’ comp coverage, discuss your injuries with an attorney. Depending on the situation, you can sue them for your injuries.
You Must Report Your Injury Within 30 Days
You must report your workplace injury in a timely fashion in order to receive benefits. If you do not report your injury to your employer within 30 days, then you may be unable to receive benefits.
While it is likely you will file severe injuries right away, you may not realize that a slow-developing injury is a problem until it has left you unable to work. In these cases, report your injury to your employer as soon as possible to avoid any potential problems with your benefits.
Workers’ Compensation Is a No-Fault System
Because of the nature of working in a restaurant, work-related injuries can look similar to injuries that are common outside of the workplace. While your employer may claim that your injury did not occur at work, they must still pay you benefits after you report your injury until they can prove otherwise. You do not need to prove that your injury happened in the workplace to receive benefits immediately after your accident.
If your employer believes that your injury happened away from work, then they can file an appeal. During this appeal, you will need to provide documentation that proves that your injury happened at work.
It is important to note that you are still able to recover compensation if the injury took place at work, even if your injury occurred because of your own negligence. Because of the system in place, benefits apply to all workplace injuries in restaurants.
Note: If your injury was the result of intoxication, horseplay, or your purposeful act, you cannot recover benefits. The insurer may claim this is the case to get out of paying you benefits. An attorney can fight this.
Workers’ Compensation Benefits Are Not Taxable
It’s important that you know the benefits you receive are not taxable. If you are told otherwise, let your lawyer know. We can explore your options.
If your employer attempts to retaliate against you for filing a workers’ compensation claim or personal injury claim, our employment law lawyer can help protect you, your rights, and your job.
Common Restaurant Injuries
Restaurants can be dangerous places, and injuries are common. Injuries we regularly see from workers’ comp claimants in the food service industry include:
- Burns from hot surfaces, flames, hot liquids, or steam
- Lacerations
- Traumatic brain injuries from slips and falls on wet floors
- Broken bones or spinal cord injuries from trips and falls
- Crush injuries from heavy objects
What to Do and Not Do After a Workers’ Compensation Injury
There are several things you can do to protect yourself after an accident at your restaurant.
- Get medical care. Many people are embarrassed when they are injured at work and just want to brush off the accident. Don’t do this. You could be suffering from serious injuries. If your employer won’t call paramedics to the scene and you are seriously injured, go to the emergency room. If you aren’t seriously injured, make an appointment for medical care. Check with your employer to determine whether you need to see a specific doctor. You need to link your injuries to the accident.
- Report your injury to your employer immediately in writing. Even if your employer was there at the time of your accident, you must let them know in writing within 30 days. This prevents them from claiming you didn’t tell them.
- Continue your medical care. Do not skip appointments or disobey doctor’s orders.
- File a workers’ comp claim. A lawyer can help.
Ways for Restaurant Employees to Avoid Injuries
With many different job types, the kinds of injuries that can be suffered by restaurant employees vary. Waiters can suffer sprains and strains from heavy lifting, while cooks can suffer cuts and burns while working in the kitchen.
Even when hiring very experienced restaurant employees, it is the responsibility of the employer to train their employees and ensure they have the latest safety information and equipment. To ensure that you are doing everything in your power to avoid an injury, you should:
- Follow all safety guidance
- Take breaks when needed and when required by law
- Wear proper clothing for your job, including slip-resistant shoes
- Do not lift or do more than you are capable of to save time
How a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Can Help You Obtain the Benefits You Need
Getting the workers’ compensation benefits you deserve isn’t always straightforward. An attorney can help ensure you’ve done all necessary tasks and reporting and manage communication with the insurance company. If the insurer rejects your claim or attempts to stop your benefits early, we can establish that you deserve these benefits.
Our attorneys handle these cases on a contingency-fee basis. This means you don’t pay anything upfront for our help. There are no retainers or hourly fees, and you only pay us if we recover benefits for you.
Get Help Recovering Your Workers’ Compensation Benefits
You do not need a lawyer to recover your benefits. However, by hiring one, you acquire their experience in handling workers’ compensation claims for restaurant workers, which could help you receive all the benefits you are entitled to. For more information about how KJT Law Group can help you, contact us today for a free consultation.
