My name is Jessie Zaylía, and I am a workers’ compensation attorney in Los Angeles who believes in being upfront with clients. I also believe in communicating with clients about their cases regularly.

I believe so strongly in a no-B.S. policy because I am an injured worker. I waited tables for 10 years before going into law, and I injured my low back significantly and permanently when I waited tables in Michigan. Then several years later, I was robbed at gunpoint as a waitress in a restaurant in California. I never filed a claim. Many years later, when I became a lawyer and got into workers’ compensation, I thanked my lucky stars that I never filed a claim because I worked against a bunch of attorneys who represented injured workers, and I saw how they were treating their own clients—horribly… as though the injured worker doesn’t have enough to deal with.

A lot of work attorneys and doctors try to “build the value” of injured workers’ cases in order to line their pockets off of your body. I’ve seen it happen over and over again.

I’m not going to do that to you.

This means that I make less money, and I do not care about that. Why? Again, it’s because I’m an injured worker, and I would never have wanted my body and health to be used and abused in order to add to my own lawyer’s or doctor’s profit. So, I certainly don’t want that for you.

Questions to ask your workers’ compensation attorney:

Nobody likes to be in the dark about their case, and nobody likes hot air being blown up their butts about whether their case is valuable or not. With that said, if you need help, here are some of the questions to ask a workers’ comp attorney in order to assess whether that lawyer is right for you:

• How many practice areas do you cover? (If a lawyer practices in too many areas of the law, then it’s a good guess that they won’t be an expert at any single topic, unless they can prove to you otherwise.)
• Are you a workers’ compensation specialist? (Only attorneys who have passed an exam in addition to the regular Bar exam and who have met all of the other requirements by the State of California are legally permitted to call themselves “specialists.”)
• How many trials have you won? (Settlements are great, but it’s important to have a lawyer who knows how to take a trial and win in the event that a settlement in your case isn’t reached for whatever reason.)
• How many doctors’ depositions have you taken? (A solid workers’ compensation attorney will have taken too many to remember. Doctor depositions require a certain level of skill and expertise, which is what you want.)
• Have you ever worked for the other side? (This question depends on your preferences. It is often advantageous to have a lawyer who has been on the defense side of the coin so that the lawyer will know the attitudes, thought processes, biases, and tactics of your opponent.)
• Have you or a close family member ever been injured at work? (You might find it refreshing to work with an attorney who knows what it’s like to be in your shoes.)

What does a workers’ comp attorney do?

You might be wondering, “What does a workers’ comp attorney do?” Great question! But let’s slightly rephrase it to, “What should a workers’ comp attorney do?”

Some work comp attorneys have somebody perform the intake for their clients, have their legal assistants draft all of the paperwork (including important legal petitions!), and show up to court on half a dozen cases at a time without the slightest notion about you or the facts of your case. They just arrive to court hoping to settle, and the concern for settlement has to do with their pocketbooks rather than your best interests.

What I do is take a sincere interest in my clients. I won’t send them to horrible doctors in order to “increase the value of the case.” I won’t put them through a wheel of confusion. If someone else is helping out with intake, my staff schedules a call for me to speak directly with a new client as soon as possible afterward. If I am in court or unavailable for some reason, I put the details of my absence in my auto-response email so that you can have an understanding of when I’ll be replying to you, and I also provide you with alternative contacts in case you need to speak with someone right away. These things seem basic, and they are! But only a few attorneys take these steps to help communicate expectations. To sum it up, a workers’ compensation attorney should communicate with you effectively, honestly, and regularly so that you have assurance about the status of your case.

Workers’ compensation lawyer fees

Finally, in case you’re wondering about workers’ compensation lawyer fees or whether a certified specialist costs extra, let me put this to rest. There are no out-of-pocket fees, and it does not cost you any extra to have a certified specialist on your side. So, you might as well go for an attorney who meets all of your criteria and who best suits your needs and goals.

If you’re needing a workers’ compensation attorney in Los Angeles or anywhere in the Greater Los Angeles area, feel free to reach out for a free consultation. You can call me at (424) 388-1001 or fill out the form on this page.