June 28th

At first it was difficult for me to understand the long process of a worker's compensation claim because i was performing different steps for each case that i handled. Now that i have completed several examples of each step i have a clearer picture of what the entire process looks like.

Starting with the phone conversation that takes place between the paralegal and the applicant the claim must then be approved by the attorney. Each application must be carefully reviewed before approval in order to ensure that the claim will be approved. Some reasons why a case would be turned down would be if the client's accident took place out of California or if the case did not classify as worker's compensation. (Usually the cases that are turned away fall under "wrongful termination")

One interesting experience that i had involved refreshing my Spanish. The legal assistant who i work closely with was out to lunch and the attorney was away at court. A client called with an urgent message so i was forwarded the call and had the opportunity to speak with the client. The client expressed his concerns and i was able to comfort him and take his call back information. I assured him that i would relay his message and have the paralegal in charge of his case contact him at her earliest convenience.

Another exciting experience so far has been meeting with a client in person. One client came to the office to meet with the paralegal in charge if his case and i was able to sit in on the meeting. The client came in with questions about his case and brought in paperwork to be copied and placed into his file. I also learned shortly after the meeting started that i had scheduled a doctors appointment for this client the week before. It was interesting to see the client in person and see how my work helped his case move forward.