If you experience an injury while working, you probably expect that your employer will take care of you. You likely assume that you will receive fair compensation for your medical expenses and any time you need to take off from work to recuperate. But what happens when your employer or their insurance company refuses to pay you your rightful workers’ compensation benefits?
A Miramar Beach workers’ compensation denial lawyer can help you fight back. Our team of dedicated legal professionals at Emmanuel Sheppard & Condon understands how to help people facing workers’ compensation denials.
Understanding the Workers’ Compensation System
Under state law, Florida employers must carry workers’ compensation insurance that covers their workers’ reasonable medical costs and reimburses them for a portion of their lost wages for the time they cannot work. If a worker passes away because of their job duties, the deceased worker’s surviving family members can collect death benefits.
One of the advantages of the workers’ compensation system is that it is supposed to give an injured worker a relatively fast way of obtaining compensation when they need it. An injured employee should be able to report their injury to their employer and receive benefits shortly thereafter.
Another advantage to workers’ compensation is that it allows hurt workers to receive compensation without having to prove that their employer did anything to cause their injury. Unlike with personal injury civil suits—where an injured claimant must demonstrate that someone else’s negligent, reckless, or intentionally wrongful actions led to their injury—an injured worker does not have to prove fault to collect workers’ compensation benefits. They only have to establish that the injury occurred while on the job or because of their workplace duties.
A seasoned attorney in Miramar Beach can help you understand how the workers’ compensation system works and can help you file the appropriate paperwork after a denial.
Reasons an Employer Might Deny a Workers’ Compensation Claim
Unfortunately, even though the workers’ compensation system exists to protect injured workers, some employees do not receive their rightful benefits. Employers and their insurance companies might try to reduce or even outright deny a worker’s benefits. Employers use several different arguments to deny paying claims.
Not an Employee
Workers’ compensation is only for actual employees. If an injured worker is a subcontractor or independent contractor, they would not be eligible to file a workers’ compensation claim. A dedicated legal team can review the terms of your employment to look for proof that your employer treated you like an employee.
Lack of Notice
Under the workers’ compensation statute, an injured employee must give notice by reporting their workplace injury to their employer within a set time period. The employer must then notify the insurance company.
Sometimes, workers do not report their injuries right away because they do not know about them. A skilled attorney can help you argue that you reported your injury when you discovered it.
Not Within the Scope of Your Employment
An employer might argue that your injury was not related to your job. For instance, an employer could deny benefits to a delivery truck driver who got into an accident while running personal errands. However, an experienced lawyer could provide proof that the employee was running errands for work because they were on an extended business trip as part of their job.
Pre-Existing Injury
Your employer might argue that your injury was pre-existing and unrelated to your job duties. However, a proactive legal professional can meet with your doctors and other medical experts to prove that the work accident exacerbated the existing injury.
Regardless of why your workers’ compensation claim is denied, our experienced Miramar Beach lawyers can help you with an appeal.
Talk to a Miramar Beach Workers’ Compensation Attorney After a Denial of Benefits
As an injured worker, you should be entitled to collect benefits after experiencing harm at your workplace. Unfortunately, employers and their insurers sometimes deny claims because they are more interested in protecting their bottom-line profits than looking out for their workers.
Talk to a Miramar Beach workers’ compensation denial lawyer to learn how to fight back.
