Suffering an on-the-job injury is every bit as serious as it sounds. Not only can this impact your health and well being, but it can mess you up from a financial point of view.
Fortunately, if you suffer an injury at your place of employment, you may be able to file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits.
The moment you suffer an injury is when you should begin to think about workers’ compensation. While your health always comes first, there are things you must do to improve your chance of obtaining benefits in the near future.
Believe it or not, you could receive a denial letter. There are many reasons for a denial, including but not limited to:
- You did not file a claim in time
- You did not report the injury to your employer in time
- Your employer disputes your claim
- You did not receive medical treatment following the injury
- You are unable to prove that you suffered the injury on the job
Generally speaking, the only thing that matters at this point is that you take immediate action. This starts with reading your denial letter to get a better idea of what went wrong.
From there, you have to decide what to do next. Your denial letter will outline the process of filing an appeal, so make sure you read this from start to finish.
Note: You only have so much time to file an appeal, typically 30 days from receipt of the letter.
In some cases, all you need to do is provide more information in order to have your denial overturned. However, it’s not always this easy. You may have to push so far that you end up having a hearing before an administrative judge.
An on-the-job injury can turn your life upside down, so you always need to have a firm grasp of your medical treatment and legal rights. If you’re unable to return to work, you need to determine if you can receive workers’ compensation benefits.
