People may need workers’ compensation for many different things. A slip and fall could send them to the hospital for a broken arm, or a car accident while completing work-related tasks could land them with a broken clavicle. Whatever the cause, a good workers’ compensation lawyer, like a NY workers’ compensation lawyer, will want you to know that if you have a valid claim for workers’ compensation and your employer is trying to deny you this compensation, he or she will fight on your behalf.
In some cases, even if your employer may believe what happened, but their insurance may deny it saying that you need more evidence for your injuries or that it does not sound like your injuries happened while you were working. Whatever the case is for your workers’ compensation denial, know that a good lawyer is there to help.
Arguing It Is Not Work-Related
Saying that your injury is not work-related is something that many employers or their insurance companies like to argue. If there is any chance that you may not have been working or that you were punched out at the time, you may find you have a hard time getting your workers’ compensation claim accepted. If the insurance company can show that you were not technically working, then they do not technically owe you money. When this is the case, know that your workers’ compensation attorney will be gathering evidence to show that a work-related task directly caused you to become injured.
You Left the Job
If you are not at the same job anymore for some reason — whether you quit, your boss fired you, etc. — and are filing this claim, their company’s insurance will probably deny it quickly. There are many valid reasons that you may not have filed your claim until you left your job. Certain possible scenarios could be that you did, in fact, report the injury to your employer and they forgot to file the report, or you reported your injury but there was workplace retaliation and your boss intentionally did not file the claim. While it will depend on which state you are in, it is possible that you still qualify for workers’ compensation and that your workers’ compensation attorney can help you with this claim denial.
Your Claim Does Not Meet State Guidelines
This depends entirely on the state you are in. For example, if you have a repetitive motion injury and you file a workers’ compensation claim for it but the insurance company denies it, this may be because they do not typically cover this kind of claim. Your attorney will look hard at the evidence and your injuries to see how he or she can help you receive benefits when you are injured.
While many places of employment do carry workers’ compensation benefits, that does not mean you will automatically get these benefits when you are injured on the job. If your employer or their insurance company has denied you of these benefits, reach out to a good attorney to see what he or she can do to help you.
Thanks to Polsky, Shouldice, & Rosen, P.C. for their insight into what you should do if your employer disputes your workers’ compensation request.