Personal Injury Lawyer
Getting injured on the job comes with a host of problems you have to work your way through. If you have found yourself in this mess, you might be relying on your workers’ compensation coverage. What happens if your claim gets denied? The following are some common reasons they get denied and what you can do about it.
Missing a Deadline
Every state has a requirement for how long an injured employee has to report the accident and injury. In one state, you’d have 30 days, but in another you’d have 90. Become familiar with the rules in your state so you don’t miss a deadline. Doing so often results in a denied claim. There are some exceptions, such as if your employer has not posted a workers’ compensation notice in the workplace, or if your supervisor witnessed the accident first-hand. If your claim is denied in one of those situations, you have ammunition to dispute it.
Questions About the Injury Being Work-Related
Some claims are denied because the employer implies or directly states the injury was not related to your job. There may be a host of reasons for this dispute to take place, but you should collect evidence that can help you prove the injury was related to your job. If there were witnesses, you could have them make a statement. If you have some type of medical evidence, you could present that as well.
State Guidelines
Every state has different guidelines, so what might be allowed in one state might not be allowed in yours. For example, a certain injury may qualify for workers’ compensation where you live, but the next state over could consider it not severe enough to qualify. Some states don’t allow benefits for illnesses caused by emotional work stress, while others do. The guidelines are all over the board, so become familiar with those that govern your state.
You No Longer Have Your Job
Whether you quit, fired, or got laid off, it’s possible your claim will be denied if you no longer hold employment. Some insurers look at workers’ compensation claims as retaliation for being fired. In other cases, the employer could be retaliating against you by firing you for filing a claim. It’s a tricky system sometimes, but you may qualify for an exception if your situation involves the employer acting illegally or if the discovery of your injury was actually after you quit your job.
Contacting a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
After being injured on the job, you might be relying on workers’ compensation. If your claim gets denied, it can be devastating. Contact a workers’ compensation lawyer, like a workers’ compensation lawyer in Green Bay, WI, today to get the help you need to fight your denial.
Thanks to Hickey & Turim for their insight into some of the reasons workers’ compensation sometimes gets denied.