3 Situations When A Workers' Comp Insurer May Claim Your Accident Is Not As Bad As You Say
When you initially file a claim for workers' compensation through your employer, the workers' comp insurance company is supposed to examine your claim, look at the damages you have incurred, and decide how you should be compensated. It is not at all uncommon for the insurance company to try to find a reason to not pay you what you are asking in your claim, which is why many people end up hiring a workers' compensation defense lawyer for help. Unfortunately, one of the ways that workers' comp insurers will try to avoid paying what you are owed is by stating that your injuries are not as bad or as damaging as what you have claimed. Take a look at some of the situations when insurance companies will try to use this excuse.
You waited a while before you filed your claim.
In most states, you have about a year to file a workers' comp claim after you have been injured. If you wait and do not file a claim with your employer, the insurance company could try to say that your injuries must not have been so bad if you could wait that long before letting them know what was going on. This is one reason why it is extremely important to report accidents and injuries to your employer immediately after you get hurt or even after you suspect that you may have been hurt.
You did not go to see doctors or seek medical care.
If you did not seek medical care or did not get enough medical care after you are injured, the insurance company may try to say that the reason you did not see a doctor is that your injuries are not as bad as you have claimed them to be. It is extremely important to seek medical attention regularly. This will prove that you are indeed struggling to get better or to overcome your injuries with the help of medical professionals and medical care.
You have been seen doing things that don't line up with your injuries.
Workers' comp insurers will go to great lengths to avoid paying a large settlement to an employee, so it is not unheard of them to try to catch you doing something that you really shouldn't be doing while you are injured. For example, if you return to work after your injury with strict orders not to do any lifting and your employer sees you lifting something, this information could be reported back to the insurer and then used to try to say that your injuries are not that bad.
For more information on workers' compensation, contact a law firm like Dawson & Associates, LLC.
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