An Appeal Can Protect Single Mothers Denied Workers Compensation Due to Poor Injury Reporting
You suffered an injury at work but didn't want to report it because you didn't think it was serious and you needed to stay active to support your children. However, the injury makes it nearly impossible for you to work but your employer denied your compensation claim. Can an appeal help you here?
Why Immediate Reporting is Important
After you suffer an injury at the workplace, you need to report it immediately and get every detail documented. You'll need eyewitnesses, if possible, to ensure that your injury report is true and accurate. This information is critical for your workers compensation claim.
Unfortunately, your employer may deny your claim if you don't report your injury immediately. They have a few reasons for this action, few of which are cruel. For example, they may think that you are faking a severe injury and trying to get money out of them even though you aren't hurt.
This concept is understandable but ignores mitigating factors, such as why you didn't report your injury. Though your employer may be swayed if you claimed you kept working with an injury to support your children, others won't believe you. As a result, an appeal may be necessary.
Appeals May Help You
If your workers compensation claim was denied and you have no way of feeding your children, you need to talk to a lawyer about an appeal right away. This process requires you to gather a variety of information to prove that your injury was real and that you can't work because of it.
Just as importantly, you need to show real evidence as to why you didn't report your injury right away. For example, you can show doctor's reports that indicate the injury didn't seem serious at first but became a problem later when the injury worsened due to no influence by you.
And, just as importantly, you need to show that the injury makes it impossible for you to work. Discuss what may happen to you and your family if you don't work and bring up personal information, such as a lack of a partner, to showcase the critical importance of workers compensation.
Though this process is often quite complex, a workers compensation law attorney can help you through the hard parts and give you the advice you need to succeed. Just as importantly, they can ensure that you are more likely to win by giving you an insight into your case and what you can do to avoid similar issues in the future.