If you have been injured on the job and file for workers' compensation, you may be surprised to find out that your employer or the insurance company is challenging your claim. In no way does this mean you will not collect on workers' compensation, but you will likely need assistance from an attorney. The following are three common reasons for a claim to be denied and how an attorney can assist you.
It is an injury to a muscle or other hard to document injury
Unlike broken or fractured bones, a strained muscle is difficult to prove. For this reason, both employers and insurance companies are suspicious of fraud. In fact, if you have a muscle strain that prevents you from doing your job, an insurance company will often assume guilt until your injury is better documented. When this happens to you, contact an attorney. What you will need to strengthen your case will depend upon the particular circumstances.
You are suspected of exaggerating your injuries
Although the insurance company or your employer have no doubt that you were injured on the job, it is suspected that your workers' compensation claim is simply an exaggeration of a minor injury you sustained at work. In situations like this, it is imperative that you have medical documentation to refute an insurance company's position for the denied claim. Depending upon the nature and extent of the injury, you may need to seek additional medical diagnosis. A workers' compensation attorney has the experience with a wide range of work-related injuries and knows how best to document them in a way that will convince an insurance company.
You are suspected of being injured outside of work
Your injury is clear and well documented, nor are you exaggerating the extent of your injury; however, your employer does not believe it happened at work and has been very clear in communicating this to the insurance company. This situation can happen if you did not seek medical help at the time of the injury, so it is not clear that it happened at work. It is not uncommon to discover the extent of your injury until hours later when you are away from your job. If this happens, you may need to document your injury at work by getting witness testimony to explain exactly what happened and how it happened. An attorney may be able to offer assistance in establishing your injury as work related.
If you find out that your claim has been denied, you need to make sure you get the reason for the denied claim in writing. With this information in hand, you can contact a workers' compensation attorney for assistance. Visit a site like http://www.lshlaw.com to learn more about how a lawyer can help you with a workers' compensation claim.
