Settling Your Workers Compensation Claim

The purpose behind workers' compensation insurance is not only to protect employers from lawsuits, but also to ensure that an injured employee is able to receive at least a portion of his salary if he is permanently injured at work.  This is a no fault insurance, similar to the coverage you have on your vehicle.  There is no need to establish any wrong-doing on the part of the employer, nor is he supposed to deny you coverage even if your own reckless behavior caused the accident.

In a perfect world, this would be a fantastic way to make sure that the needs of injured employees are met, even if they are unable to continue to work.  Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world and greed will often drive an employer to deny a claim without cause.  If your claim for workers' compensation has been denied, ask an attorney for assistance.  The law states that if your injury occurred at work, the employer has to pay for its treatment in addition to your lost wages.

There is a process in place for an injured employee to appeal the employers decision to deny or stop coverage of his claim.  It is a type of hearing where evidence can be presented, so if you are forced to go this route to receive your rightful compensation, you should do it with a workers' compensation attorney at your side. 

If the injury you sustained is deemed to be a partial or complete disability, the employer is responsible to continue paying you a portion of your salary as well as cover any future medical costs.  When they deny your claim, you are left responsible for your own medical bills, without any means to pay them.  If you do appeal, and the administrative law judge rules in favor the employer is instructed to resume payment of the medical costs and your salary. 

You are permitted to make a settlement agreement with the insurance company to cover all future expenses.  That is what a St. Louis train repairman did after an administrative law judge ruled in his favor.  Instead of accepting the weekly payments that were ordered, he made a deal with the insurance company that gave him a lump sum amount of $140,000 in addition to the $103,500 the employer had to pay for past medical costs. 

Many injured employees like the idea of a one-time pay-out over weekly checks for a disability.  This allows them the opportunity to possibly pay off some debt or put money aside for a child’s education.  The insurance company likes the idea because the amount settled on is usually lower than what they would have had to pay out over the course of time.  This is a personal choice on your part and one you should discuss not only with your family but with your attorney.  Contact the Law Office of James M. Hoffmann today if your claim has been denied and you would like the opportunity to appeal that decision.

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