Top 5 Reasons Workers’ Compensation Claims Get Denied

If you’ve suffered a serious injury in a work-related accident, you probably have concerns about your ability to provide for yourself and your family. Luckily, individuals who suffer work-related accidents are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, which provide both medical benefits and lost wage benefits to workers whose injuries keep them off the job. However, filing workers’ compensation claims can be tricky, and the workers’ compensation process is filled with pitfalls for the unwary. The best way to avoid your workers’ compensation claim getting denied is by seeking the counsel of a Tifton workers’ compensation lawyer. 

1. Your Injury Wasn’t Work-Related 

Worker’s compensation benefits are available only for work-related injuries. Your workers’ compensation insurance provider may classify your injury as non-work-related if it occurred while commuting to or from work (such as in a motor vehicle accident) or was the result of non-work-related recreational activities. In some cases, your employer or insurer may argue that your injury did not occur at work because there are no witnesses or CCTV footage of the incident. 

2. You Didn’t Notify Your Employer in Time 

You should report your injury to your employer as soon as possible, ideally immediately after the accident. If that is not possible, you must report it within 30 days at the latest. Employers and insurers often use unreasonable delays in reporting injuries as evidence that you either were not really injured on the job or that they were unable to carry out a proper accident investigation. 

3. You Didn’t Seek Medical Attention 

You don’t necessarily need to seek medical treatment for every little cut, scrape, or bruise you suffer at work. But if you think that an injury you suffer at work could potentially give rise to a workers’ compensation claim, you will need to seek medical treatment so that you will have the medical documentation to prove the extent of your injuries. Failing to seek medical care or delaying treatment can lead to allegations that your injuries are not as severe as you claim. 

4. Your Injury Involves a Preexisting Condition 

A preexisting injury is an injury that you had at the time you suffered your work-related injury. While preexisting injuries do not preclude you from receiving workers’ compensation benefits, preexisting injuries often lead to denied claims, as employers and insurers argue that your injuries are due to the preexisting condition rather than the work-related accident. 

5. Your Injury Was Due to Fighting, Horseplay, or Roughhousing

Generally, you must suffer your injury within the course of your work duties for it to be compensable under workers’ compensation. Injuries you sustain while not engaged in work duties, such as by fighting, horseplaying, roughhousing, playing practical jokes, or intentionally misusing equipment, are not compensable. 

Avoid Claim Denials by Working With a Tifton Workers Compensation Lawyer 

The best way to avoid your claim being denied is to work with an experienced attorney. To get started, please contact a Tifton workers compensation lawyer at the Hudson Injury Firm by calling 229-396-5848 or using our online form.