Employers are legally responsible for providing a safe work environment. When they fail to maintain proper safety standards, train employees, or address known hazards, serious workplace injuries can occur. At Flahavan Law, we’ve handled a wide range of workplace injury cases involving everything from unsafe equipment to hazardous conditions. If you’ve been hurt on the job due to negligence, we’re here to help you understand your rights and pursue the compensation you deserve.
Workplace Injury Attorney in Rohnert Park
Getting hurt at work can turn your life upside down overnight. One moment you are doing your job, the next you are facing surgery, months off work, and a mountain of bills while your employer’s insurance company fights you every step of the way. In Rohnert Park and throughout Sonoma County, thousands of people work in construction, manufacturing, warehousing, agriculture, healthcare, and service industries where serious injuries happen every day. Falls from ladders, forklift accidents, repetitive-motion disorders, chemical exposures, and machinery malfunctions leave workers with broken bones, crushed limbs, back injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and permanent disabilities.
At Flahavan Law Offices in Santa Rosa, Brian Flahavan has spent more than 20 years exclusively fighting for injured people. We have helped hundreds of workers in Rohnert Park, Cotati, Petaluma, and across the North Bay recover millions of dollars through workers’ compensation and third-party lawsuits. If you have been hurt on the job, call us today for a completely free, confidential consultation. You pay nothing unless we win money for you.
Workplace injuries don’t just affect your physical health; they impact every part of your life. You may be unable to lift your children, return to your everyday routines, or cover your household expenses. At the same time, you wait for medical treatment or disability checks to be approved. Many insurance providers recognize this weakness and take advantage of those who have suffered injury by postponing claims, rejecting treatment, or coercing injured workers into taking lower amounts of compensation than is fair. Our business seeks to prevent such actions at all times. Our staff works directly with the adjusters for your insurance provider to ensure you have access to appropriate medical professionals. Our team advocates on behalf of clients to obtain the highest level of benefits permitted by law for all injured workers in California. Whether you need temporary disability payments, long-term medical care, vocational retraining, or compensation for a third-party claim, we make sure no recovery opportunity is missed. You deserve support, not a battle, after a work injury. Let us stand up for you every step of the way.
High-Risk Jobs and Workplaces in Rohnert Park
Rohnert Park and the surrounding area are home to a mix of industries that keep injury rates higher than average:
- Construction sites around the new housing developments and commercial projects along Rohnert Park Expressway and Commerce Boulevard Manufacturing and food-processing plants in the business parks off Redwood Drive and Dowdell Avenue Warehouses and distribution centers serving Amazon, FedEx, and local wineries
- Landscaping and agricultural contractors working year-round
- Healthcare facilities and senior-living centers with heavy lifting and patient-transfer duties
- Restaurants, hotels, and retail stores where slips, burns, and overexertion injuries are common
These jobs involve ladders, scaffolding, forklifts, conveyor belts, power tools, repetitive motions, and heavy lifting, all while employers are supposed to follow strict Cal/OSHA safety rules.
Common Workplace Injuries We See Every Week
- Falls from roofs, ladders, or scaffolding
- Crush injuries and amputations from machinery or forklifts
- Back and neck injuries from lifting or repetitive motion
- Traumatic brain injuries from falling objects or falls
- Chemical burns and respiratory illnesses from toxic exposure
- Electrocution and arc-flash burns
- Hand and finger injuries from presses or saws
- Knee, shoulder, and rotator-cuff tears
- Carpal tunnel and other repetitive-stress disorders
- Hearing loss from constant loud noise
- PTSD and anxiety after traumatic incidents
Many of these injuries are permanently disabling and prevent workers from ever returning to their previous careers.
Contact Flahavan Law Office
Two Separate Paths to Compensation
California gives injured workers two possible sources of recovery, and they do not cancel each other out.
- Workers’ Compensation (no-fault system)
- Pays all reasonable and necessary medical treatment
- Temporary disability payments while you are off work (usually two-thirds of your average weekly wage)
- Permanent disability payments are available if you have a lasting impairment.
- Supplemental job displacement voucher for retraining
- Death benefits for the surviving family
- Third-Party Civil Lawsuit (fault-based system) When someone other than your employer or co-worker caused or contributed to the injury (subcontractor, property owner, equipment manufacturer, delivery driver, etc.), you can file a separate lawsuit for full damages, including pain and suffering, 100% of lost wages, and future medical care. These cases often settle for hundreds of thousands, or even millions, more than workers’ comp alone would pay.
We evaluate every workplace injury for both paths from day one.
How Employers and Insurance Companies Fight Injured Workers
The moment you report an injury, the system is designed to pay as little as possible:
- Claims are denied with excuses like “pre-existing condition” or “not work-related.”
- Doctors chosen by the insurance company downplay your injuries
- Nurses and adjusters pressure you to return to light duty before you are ready
- Surveillance videos follow you to catch you mowing the lawn or carrying groceries
- Independent Medical Exams are scheduled with biased doctors
- Low settlement offers arrive before you know if you will ever work again
- Delays in treatment approvals that make injuries worse
We stop every one of these tactics and force the insurance carrier to follow the law.
What We Do Differently From Day One
We take over the entire claim so you can focus on healing:
- Immediate investigation of the accident scene before evidence is moved or destroyed Photographs, measurements, and preservation of defective equipment or machinery Interviews with co-workers while memories are fresh
- Obtaining safety meeting minutes, OSHA logs, and training records
- Hiring top engineers and Cal/OSHA experts to prove safety violations
- Guiding you to the best treating doctors who understand workers’ compensation
- Fighting denied medical treatment through the Utilization Review and IMR process
- Preparing your case for the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board if necessary
- Identifying every possible third-party defendant to maximize recovery
- Negotiating liens so you keep more of your settlement.
Third-Party Claims: The Game-Changer Most Attorneys Miss
There are also some substantial recoveries from individuals, as opposed to employers:
- A general contractor who failed to enforce safety rules
- A property owner who created a dangerous condition
- A forklift or ladder manufacturer with a defective product
- A subcontractor whose negligence injured you
- A delivery truck driver who caused a warehouse accident
Workers’ comp schedules do not limit these civil cases and allow full pain-and-suffering damages that are barred under the comp system.
Local Knowledge That Gives You the Edge
We know the contractors, manufacturers, and property managers in Rohnert Park by name. We have taken depositions of the same safety supervisors multiple times. We understand which doctors in Santa Rosa and Petaluma give fair ratings and which ones are hired by insurance companies to low-ball impairments. Years of practice before the Santa Rosa Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and Sonoma County Superior Court give us relationships and credibility that directly translate into faster, larger settlements.
The Timeline of a Workplace Injury Case
- Immediate medical care and reporting the injury to your employer
- Opening of workers’ compensation claim (we handle all paperwork)
- Investigation and evidence preservation
- Treatment phase with approved doctors
- Return-to-work or modified-duty evaluation
- Permanent and stationary declaration
- Rating of permanent disability
- Settlement negotiations or trial preparation
- Third-party lawsuit filing, if applicable
- Final resolution and lien negotiations
We guide you through every stage and explain what is happening in plain English.
