Law

Waiting for Your Worker’s Compensation? Here’s When Payments Begin

Twenty-one days from reporting your employer about your work-related accident, you should get your first Workers’ Compensation cheque. 

There are some subtleties to this, too, including your place of residence, the facts of your case, the degree of your injuries, and medical expenditures. 

Having a skilled Hampton Roads workers’ comp lawyer on your side will help to guarantee timely payment. 

Types of Workers’ Compensation Benefits You Can Receive

Most state workers’ compensation rules let an injured employee get two types of benefits:

  • Compensation for Costs of a Work Injury Claim

These monies cover the medical treatment required to recover from an injury, illness, or medical condition. As long as your expenses are reasonably medically necessary and relate to what happened to you at work, you are entitled to obtain medical benefits—including for future treatment—without any restriction.

  • Loss of Income Disability Benefits

These are monthly disability benefits meant to assist you in offsetting lost or lowered income. Loss of income benefits can be partial or entire, temporary or permanent.

How Long Does It Take Before Workers’ Comp Starts Paying?

Your particular workers’ comp claim’s chronology will rely on several elements. Usually, you are supposed to tell your company of the injury immediately; five days from now, your employer must notify its insurance carrier.

The workers’ comp insurance company has 60 days from the date of your employer’s notification to either accept or reject your claim in writing after you have one filed. You can ask the Workers’ Comp Board for a hearing if you do not receive a formal notice of acceptance or denial within sixty days.

When Do Medical Benefits Begin?

Should your claim be approved, the insurance company should start covering your medical expenses immediately. You have to write a formal request with copies of your medical bills or associated receipts to get a refund for medical expenses. Before claim acceptance, medical expenses are not covered.

Remember that only medical bills resulting from conditions for which they have accepted liability in writing are paid by insurers. Should you want to be reimbursed for medical benefits for new or additional conditions, you have to ask for another written request from the insurer and wait another sixty days for a decision.

What if My Workers’ Compensation Benefits Are Delayed?

Based on nothing going wrong with handling your claim, the time frames above indicate when you should start getting workers’ compensation payments. Given that most workers’ compensation claims are approved, this is typically a reasonable presumption.

Still, events can cause your benefits to be refused or delayed in being paid. For instance, the insurance company can wish for further information about your claim before approving it or find issues with the claim filing.

How Can a Lawyer Prove a Workers’ Compensation Injury?

Should your injury not arise in the workplace, workers’ compensation will not compensate for it. You will thus need as much proof as feasible to support your claim that your injury occurred at work.

Eyewitness accounts, a copy of your company’s accident report, scene photos, pictures of your injuries, surveillance footage, or medical reports—all of which your attorney could use to demonstrate where the injury occurred.

Conclusion

There are many reasons a certain workers’ comp claim might be delayed. Concern about fraud has led to a lot of bureaucratic red tape, injuring workers may find themselves stuck, and the intricacy of the application procedure creates many chances for mistakes and difficulties. Still, see a lawyer right once if you have been hurt at a job. 

References

  1. https://phillipspolich.com/blog/workers-comp-start-paying/
  2. https://www.fendonlaw.net/blog/when-does-workers-comp-start-paying/
  3. https://mehtamcconnell.com/blog/when-does-workers-comp-start-paying/
  4. https://www.krasnolaw.com/articles/when-does-workers-comp-start-paying

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