Can a workers’ compensation adjuster look into my personal information like restraining orders and use that against me? He’s saying I wasn’t injured at work, and that my ex injured me. He’s saying it happened around same time which is totally false.
Ann Kiernan replies:
Yes. Employers and their workers’ compensation carriers are entitled to investigate the claims that are made. These investigations can be civil or criminal. In fact, in California, where you live, the Department of Insurance posts a monthly list of workers’ comp fraud convictions. I am very sorry to learn that you have been the victim of domestic violence. But restraining orders are public records, and the adjuster does have the right to review those records as part of his investigation.
To receive workers’ compensation benefits in California, you must prove that an injury arose out of and occurred in the course of the employment. How can you do that? According to the California Supreme Court, by providing evidence that is “reasonable in nature, credible, and of solid value such that a reasonable mind might accept it as adequate to support its conclusion.” South Coast Framing, Inc. v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd., 61 Cal. 4th 291 (2015). Importantly, the workplace injury need only be a contributing cause–not the sole cause—of the disability.
In the South Coast case, a carpenter was seriously hurt in a fall at work. His workers’ compensation doctor gave him medication for the injuries, including Elavil, Neurontin, and Vicodin. He also received Xanax and Ambien from his personal doctor. Approximately four months after the fall, the carpenter died. His family was awarded workers’ compensation death benefits, because death resulted from a combination of all the drugs, some of which were prescribed because of his workplace injury.
So, even if you were injured in the domestic violence incident, if you were also hurt at work, you have the right to benefits. To protect your rights, I urge you to consult a local workers’ compensation attorney. Good luck.
Posted 03-24-2020
Information here is correct at the time it is posted. Case decisions cited here may be reversed. Please do not rely on this information without consulting an attorney first.