Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Workers’ Comp Claim

When you have an accident at work that results in one or more injuries, your employer’s insurance company is legally responsible for making sure you take care of treating and rehabilitating the injuries. However, employees that suffer one or more injuries on the job have to follow legal guidelines when it comes to filing a workers’ compensation claim. If you make just one mistake during the claims process, your employer’s insurance company might try to contest your workers’ compensation claim.

Let’s look at the mistakes that can hurt your workers’ comp claim.

Failure to Seek Medical Care

Maybe you felt the injury was not serious enough to warrant medical attention or you followed the old school principle of “shake it off” by allowing time to heal all the wounds. Whatever the reason, not getting medical care after a workplace injury is the worst mistake you can make. Your physician provides you with all the medical evidence for submission to the California Division of Workers’ Compensation. Establishing that you received medical care for your injuries forms the foundation of your workers’ comp claim.

Not Reporting Your injury

Not reporting your injury to your employer nullifies a workers’ compensation claim. You must inform your employer about the workplace incident that caused the injuries within 30 days after the incident. Act with a sense of urgency by reporting a workplace accident on the same day the accident happened. Your employer must hand you a claim form that you submit to the California Division of Worker’s Compensation.

Ignoring Professional Medical Advice

Ignoring the recovery plan put in place by your doctor slows the healing process. It also gives your employer’s insurance company a good reason to ask for a denial of your workers’ compensation claim. Some insurance companies hire private investigators to find anything that can cause your claim to lose credibility. If you refuse to return to work after your doctor clears you, your employer’s insurance company might contest your workers’ compensation claim by insisting you are healthy enough to return to work.

Claim Lacks Detailed Information

The form you submit for a workers’ compensation claim requires a detailed account of the incident that caused one or more workplace injuries. You might forget to report a minor detail about the area where the accident took place or you failed to mention one of the eyewitnesses. The insurance company representing your employer might claim you are deceiving the company by omitting important information or embellishing the account of the workplace accident.

Trusting Your Employer

Let’s make it clear: No matter how long you have worked for your employer, no matter how dedicated you are to your job, your employer and its insurance company do not want to pay for the medical expenses associated with a workplace accident. Every doctor’s visit and every missed day at work means money is coming out of your employer’s bank account. Never trust your employer to do the right thing.

Not Hiring a Highly-rated Workers’ Comp Attorney

Even if your claim appears to be strong enough to receive approval, you should still hire an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer. Your attorney guides you through the entire process that starts by ensuring you have submitted a claim that includes convincing evidence. The team of workers’ compensation lawyers at the PLBH Law Firm always makes the best interests of our clients the number one priority.