With the advent of the modern era, workplace safety has become a priority for most employers, primarily because of the strict laws that have been enforced regarding employee’s safety. But, all is not well because a significant number of workplace injuries and even deaths are reported every year.
Other than employers, employees like shift workers must also take some steps on their own to ensure their safety so that they do not have to file for damages by hiring a competent lawyer like workers compensation attorney Seattle, WA.
Despite the overall safety awareness, a considerable number of compensation claims are filed every year, but not all of them are accepted as valid. We have discussed here six reasons due to which your worker’s compensation claim may get denied so that you are better informed when you have to file such a claim.
- You did not get injured in your workplace:
Before filing the claim, you have to make sure that you got injured while performing your duties in the workplace. For example, if you are working as a waiter and slipped while taking food to the diners, then you are entitled to compensation. But, if you twist your ankle during break or while commuting to your workplace, your employer will not owe you anything.
- You did not notify your supervisor about the injury within the prescribed time:
Almost every good company has a policy regarding workplace injuries and what is the maximum time window during which an injury has to be reported. Therefore, if you do not happen to report your injury within the prescribed time, then your employer will not owe you compensation. He will put up various arguments like you did not get injured in the workplace because if you did, you would have filed the report much earlier.
- You were intoxicated at work:
If you get injured at work while intoxicated, you will not have any right to file for a compensation claim because your basic functioning skills were severely compromised because of your own mistake. Most of the employers ask for a drug or alcohol test to check whether the injury happened under the influence, and they have every right to do it.
- You were not treated by a medical professional who is on the company’s panel:
Most of the companies have a range of medical professionals and hospitals on their panels, which can be consulted by employees for valid medical reasons. If you visit an unregistered health service provider for your treatment, the employer will not accept the medical certificate required to file for a compensation claim.
- You did not file the papers on time:
Every company has a documental procedure in place for the reporting of workplace injuries that have to be followed by the injured employees within a prescribed time frame. Therefore, if you fail to file these documents on time, then your employer will not be liable to pay for your injuries.
- Your injury happened when you were fooling around during the work hours:
If you get injured while playing practical jokes, or horse playing in the workplace during the duty hours, then you will not be entitled to compensation because the law does not see you as working when you are fooling around at the job.
Now that you understand various reasons why your compensation claim may get denied, you will be more careful and informed if you happen to incur an injury at work and are looking to file a worker’s compensation claim.