What is Claim Resolution After a Workplace injury?

If you have been injured at work, your medical bills may be covered under workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ comp is an insurance program employers pay for to offer financial compensation to injured workers in order to cover lost wages and medical bills as a result of workplace accidents. In most states, employers are required to offer workers’ comp to their employees, with some exceptions. Texas is the only state which does not require employers to offer workers’ comp to their employees, yet many choose to do so anyway. Employers who do not offer workers’ comp may choose to offer an alternate form of workplace injury insurance.

If a dispute arises regarding a claim made on workers’ comp or another type of insurance, the process of combatting and refuting that dispute in order to get the injured party the help they are eligible for is considered the claim resolution or dispute resolution process. If you have suffered a workplace injury and find your own or another insurance provider to be uncooperative, contact a workplace injury attorney as soon as possible.

You may need to attend a claim resolution hearing.

If you are unable to resolve the dispute with a quick call to the insurance provider, further measures may be necessary. The sooner you contact an attorney the better after a workplace injury claim has been disputed. A statute of limitations exists in each state, after which time has passed the injured party may no longer take legal action to recover from the injury. In Georgia, the statute of limitations for workplace injuries is only one year. The statute of limitations and laws regarding workplace injury vary from state to state, so it’s a good idea to look up an attorney in your area.

If your injury was caused or contributed to by a third-party, you may be eligible to file a third-party claim in addition to workers’ comp.

A third party claim may be filed in addition to receiving workers’ compensation benefits when the injury occurred as a result of a third party; essentially, this refers to anyone other than the employer or the worker themself. A common hypothetical used to illustrate this situation includes a worker who is injured by a defective rented forklift while on the job. Because the injury occurred at work, the employee can receive workers’ compensation benefits and may also choose to file a third party lawsuit against the forklift rental company to seek compensation for their damages. If the original workers’ compensation claim is being disputed, it might not be a bad idea to look into alternative options for financial recovery.

That said, workers’ compensation attorneys generally recommend filing for workers’ compensation benefits before pursuing alternate legal action.

This is because unless there is an issue regarding claim resolution, the injured party is likely to receive financial aid much faster under workers’ compensation. However, if the employer was negligent or a third party was involved, it’s a good idea to begin filing a personal injury claim as soon as possible; it can take a long time for lawsuits to reach a verdict, so it’s important to begin acting as soon as possible after the injury.

To learn more about claim resolution or for help if your injury claim is being disputed, contact a workplace injury attorney.