When to Call a Work Injury Lawyer
(Guest post) No one wants an attorney to confront his or her employer about a workers compensation claim. Unfortunately though, that is often the only way an injury victim gets compensation. Instead of treating injury victims with dignity, some companies treat them poorly by ignoring their financial needs for the sake of savings money.
When companies take this attitude, they usually exhibit signs that they do not intend to honor a victim’s claim. When injury victims encounter these signs, they should contact an injury lawyer as soon as possible.
Signs that an Insurance Company is Avoiding You
1. Stating the injury did not occur
When an injury does not involve visible signs such as cuts and bruises, some employers and their workers comp insurance carriers claim it never happened. Injuries that employers and their insurance carriers take this approach with include: hearing damage injuries, nerve damage injuries, and mental trauma injuries.
2. Stating the injury is less serious than claimed
When an injury does not involve visible signs of pain, some employers say it is less serious than the victim claims. An employer and its insurance carrier use this tactic to have claims reduced or dismissed. However, a work injury lawyer can use medical findings to ensure the right compensation is reached.
3. Suggesting the injury was caused by something else
After reporting an injury such as a slip and fall accident to their employer, injury victims are often quizzed by insurance carrier’s claims adjusters, who attempt to uncover alternative causes for an injury. Because the goal of claims adjusters is to reduce or dismiss injury claims, claimants should refuse to speak to them and let a work injury lawyer speak with them instead.
4. Disputing a physician’s findings
Employers and their insurance carriers are quick to support medical findings if they suit their goals. When medical findings indicate an injury is serious and will require long treatment, however, some companies and their insurance carriers request more tests, an examination by a different physician, or a second opinion on the original findings. Instead of becoming a guinea pig for their employer and its insurance carrier’s selfish interests, injury victims should call an attorney.
5. Asking for the same forms time and again
Judging by how many times insurance carriers claim to lose or misplace official forms, you would think they didn’t have filing cabinets. In most cases, however, the request for a form to be sent time and again is designed to exhaust the claimant, and it often does. When a workers comp insurance carrier claims to lose, misplace, or not receive forms that have been sent again and again, calling an attorney can end the absurdity.
6. Consistently prolonging the claims process
When an employer and its insurance carrier know that injury victims have not retained an attorney, they often prolong the claims process until they do. From asking for forms to be sent time and again to claiming that a decision that never arrives will be arriving soon, they hold out as long as they can. When an attorney enters the game, however, results can be achieved within days.
Seth Thompson represents Drinkwater & Goldstein LLP in South Jersey.