My workers compensation claim has been denied! Now what?

An unfortunate fact of life is that sometimes people who claim to be looking out for your interest aren’t really doing so. This phenomenon can sometimes be the case when it comes to making workers’ compensation claims in North Carolina. The system is set up for your benefit, but at its heart are two participants who may place their self-interest ahead of yours: employers and their insurers.

These two parties survive based on profitability. The fact is, when you submit a workers’ compensation claim, not only are you no longer a source of profit from your labor, but you actually become a potential cost. And part of maintaining profitability demands that costs be minimized. This can have the unintended consequence of creating an adversarial relationship between you, your employer and its insurer.

This adversarial relationship can manifest itself in the denial of workers’ compensation claims or benefits. You may, for example, be sent to a physician whom the insurer has retained precisely to look for ways to find that you are not really injured or that your injuries are so minor that the degree of your disability can be minimized. When this happens, although such a decision is not final, the burden is now on you to overcome such a claim denial or benefit reduction.

When this happens you may find yourself confronted with questions like: “What is a Form 61?” or “What is a Form 33?” There are ways to appeal an adverse decision, but unless you are already familiar with them finding out what they are and how to use them can feel like navigating a maze while blindfolded.

Fortunately, at Ayers, Whitlow & Dressler we already know the intricacies of workers’ compensation law – including how to deal with reluctant employers or recalcitrant insurers.

If you have been injured at work you already have enough on your plate coping with recovering from your injury or illness or learning to get by after the loss of a loved one who died in a work accident. Let us deal with the stress of facing-off against those whose self-interest may be to seek ways to reduce the full compensation to which you are entitled.

Learn more about how a Charlotte workers compensation lawyer can help you and how to contact us by going to our website. Initial consultation is free, and we only collect a fee if you obtain the benefits you deserve.