Certain professions have a higher risk of becoming injured at work than others. However, all jobs carry some risk for injury including repetitive task injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome. After filing a workers’ compensation claim, you have been denied care. What do you do now?
Help
The first thing you may want to do is contact a Portland workers compensation attorney. They can provide you with professional legal help to appeal your case. They can also tell you why the claim was denied in the first place. Dealing with the insurance company or your employer over the case can be stressful and prevent you from healing the way you need to. A judge through the state workers’ compensation board or the labor department hears the appeals case and makes a decision. Often denials have greater success rate during the appeals process when an attorney is used.
Appeal
Whether or not you seek legal counsel, you can appeal the decision. There is usually a deadline to appeal on the denial letter sent to you. This is a hard deadline determined by state law. The insurance company has to let you appeal your denial. Sometimes, you can speak to your employer and easily resolve a simple clerical error. Perhaps, someone input the wrong injury date or didn’t have all the information denying your claim. A quick conversation may clear up the whole mess and have you approved for your claim.
Denials
Common workers’ comp denials often involve not filing and reporting things in a timely fashion. State laws are very strict when it comes to filing deadlines. You must report the injury to your employer usually within a few days. Going beyond that could cause a denial. Some claims do not receive compensation under the insurance such as stress-related injuries. Failure to obtain medical treatment can cause a denial. Other disqualifying reasons are possible, but these are the most common.