The Biggest Hurdles Professionals Face When Filing A Worker’s Compensation Claim
Brian O Sutter
Workers’ Compensation
Workers in the Ft. Myers area want to go to work, come home, enjoy time with their families, and collect their paychecks at the end of the week. What happens when you get injured on the job? That workday turns into a trip to the hospital, fun family time gets put on hold, and you may not see much of that paycheck if you’re unable to work due to your injuries. What makes it even better? The mounting medical bills piling up with little to no income coming in. To avoid the worst of a work injury, all employers in the Ft. Myers area are required by law to carry workers' compensation insurance. This insurance provides compensation to injured workers for lost work wages and medical costs until they can recover from their injuries and return to their careers once again.
Ideally, an injured worker would be able to file a workers' compensation claim, get their compensation in a timely manner, and focus solely on their recovery. This doesn’t always happen, however, and in many instances injured workers face hurdles that they may not expect.
The Top 5 Hurdles Faced When Trying To Obtain Workers' Compensation
It pays to know what you could expect when filing a workers' compensation claim. Knowing what may be coming can help you to prepare and know which avenues to take to make these challenges as stress-free as possible. These top 5 hurdles are:
• Your injury was unwitnessed – In order for an injury to quality for worker’s compensation insurance coverage it has to be accidental, and it must occur while the job is being performed correctly. Going against safety standards, being reckless, or being on the job while intoxicated will disqualify a person from being able to receive worker’s compensation. If your accident has gone unwitnessed, it turns into your word against the word of the insurance provider. An insurance provider may claim that the accident was due to negligence, and they could use this to deny your claim outright.
• Your accident report is inconsistent with your medical records – Medical professionals see a lot of patients in one day, and they’re not immune to making mistakes. If your accident involves your arm, but a doctor makes a mistake in your records citing an injured leg, this could lead to workers' compensation denying your claim. Make sure you clearly and repeatedly relay the details of your accident to your medical team and double check all records.
• You refuse to give or sign a medical statement – Suffering a workplace injury is a stressful time, and you might be looking at anything you sign or any statements you give under a microscope. While employees are not legally required to provide a recorded statement or sign a statement, it can give worker’s compensation insurance adjusters a reason to outright deny your claim.
• Poor communication – If an injured worker is dealing with poor communication between themselves and their doctors, their employer, or any witnesses to the accident, this could lead to trouble with their claim. Workers' compensation insurance providers are going to want every detail, and this can’t be provided when communication is difficult.
• You’re laid off before your claim is filed – If you suffer an injury in Ft. Myers, and then you’re laid off shortly after due to an inability to perform in your role, this can throw a wrench in your worker’s compensation claim. Employers, insurance adjusters, and compensation judges will typically view this as a “revenge claim” even if the injury is legitimate.