Three Reasons Workers Compensation Insurance Denies Employees Claims
Common reasons that injured workers get their workers’ compensation claims denied include missed deadlines, employer disputes, and complicating factors in the employee’s medical history.
Except for the smallest of small businesses, all employers in Nebraska must carry workers’ compensation insurance coverage. Filing a workers’ compensation claim after a work injury is a protected activity, and employment law prohibits employers from retaliating against workers who file workers’ comp claims. None of this means that the employer’s workers’ comp insurance must pay every claim that every worker submits. How much money you will get for your claim, if any, is as uncertain in workers’ compensation cases as it is when you file an auto insurance claim after a car accident. The more serious your injury, the greater the risk that workers’ comp will not cover all the treatment and other benefits you need. An Omaha workers’ compensation lawyer can help you maximize the chances of your claim getting accepted and resolve disputes with your employer about your workers’ compensation case.
Failure to File Paperwork in a Timely Manner
Nebraska law does not have a hard-and-fast deadline for when you must report a work injury to your employer. It only says, “As soon as possible.” That means that if you are able to walk and talk immediately after your injury, you should notify the human resources office even as you wait for the ambulance to arrive. If you are injured so seriously that you require immediate hospitalization, then you, a family member, or a coworker with whom you have a good relationship should notify your employer on the same day of the accident.
Employers Denying That They are Responsible for the Injury or its Treatment
Workers’ compensation law does not require the employee to prove that the employer is at fault for the accident in order to get his or her claim paid; workers’ compensation insurance must accept claims on the basis that accidents just happen. The insurance can deny the claim; however, if the employee was acting recklessly or if the accident did not happen at work, your employer might try to argue one of these points to avoid paying your claim.
Work Injury or Pre-Existing Medical Condition
Young, healthy people complain about having to work, but once you get to a certain age, you become grateful that you are healthy enough to work. This attitude will make your time inside and outside of work more pleasant, but the older you are, the greater the chances that workers’ comp will shortchange you because it claims that your pain is from an old injury instead of from the accident that recently happened at work.
Contact Andres Law Offices, PC LLO, About Workers’ Compensation Disputes
An Omaha workers’ compensation lawyer can help you get your workers’ compensation claim approved. Contact Andres Law Offices, PC LLO in Omaha, Nebraska, about your case.