6 Tips For Appearing Before a Workers Compensation Appeals Board

The Workers Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) is a 7-member legal body appointed for reviewing the workers’ compensation petitions. The WCAB exercises all powers vested by the Labor Code. If you are claiming compensation for your work-related injury or illness, then you have to present your case in front of the board members. Hence, if you do not provide satisfactory facts supporting your disability and loss of income, your petition might be denied or given much lesser compensation benefits. So, you have to appear before WCAB after relevant preparations. These tips might be helpful to you in this process.

1. Submit Evidence Well in Advance

Board members require time to scrutinize the evidence documents and decide on the status of your case. So, you should submit the supporting evidence documents well before the time set for oral hearing with the board members so that they had sufficient time to review them.

2. Bring Copies of Supporting Documents

Bring photo copies of all documents which you are going to use as a support for your compensation claim. Keep them handy while presenting your case.

3. Instruct Your Witness

You have to give certain instructions to be followed by your witness. For instance, the witness should be aware of the possible questions, have relevant data in hand and not take help from the observers for answering questions.

4. Questioning Witness

Although oral hearing before WCAB is informal, you should not waste time in asking irrelevant questions. Ask only questions relevant to the issue raised so that you get required answers. If the witness becomes emotionally upset or feels uncomfortable, then request for a short recess. Do not ask leading questions which cannot be cross-examined.

5. Keep Track of the Order

Present your case in a chronological order and provide evidence with certain important dates relevant to your issue. You can have a timeline prepared to use it during presentation.

6. Summarize

Close your presentation with a summary of key aspects in your case. This summary should be made clear, concise and reiterate points in your advantage. You can include tests and reports to be reviewed by the board members for making a decision.

Get Legal Advice First

You have to understand the nuances of the workers compensation laws in order to effectively present your case before the workers’ compensation appeal board. Although the above-mentioned tips may help you, it is wise to take the help from an attorney specialized in worker compensation to have more accurate details.

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