Can I File an Appeal on My Workers’ Compensation Claim?

If you’ve been injured on the job in Baltimore, under Maryland law, you may be owed workers’ compensation. However, not all injuries and accidents are covered, and your claim for compensation may be denied. Denial can happen for a number of reasons, and, depending on why you were denied, you may have the opportunity to appeal your claim and get your denial repealed.

Why Was My Claim Denied?

Because workers’ compensation cases are a subsection of tort law, the burden of proof is on you to show that your employer acted negligently and that their negligence caused your accident. If you have a slip and fall case, you must show that your employer didn’t take proper precautions to ensure safe working conditions. If your employer disputes that they were responsible for the accident and/or your injury, then your claim may be denied.

More often than not, though, claims are denied because the victim did not file their claim within a suitable period of time after the accident. If you’re working in Baltimore, then you must submit your claim to the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission within two years of the date of the accident. If you wait any longer than this, your claim will almost certainly be automatically denied. In general, you should prepare your case and submit your claim as soon after the accident as possible.

Some states will deny workers’ compensation based on the nature of the claim. However, it should be noted that Maryland does honor stress-related conditions in workers’ compensation cases. So, if you are denied based on the type of conditions or the basis for your claim, be sure to look up the state-specific workers’ compensation laws or talk with your attorney about whether or not your denial is actually legal in Maryland.

Denials also sometimes occur by mistake. This is not incredibly common, but it does happen, and you should look into it if you believe that a mistake has been made in the filing process for your claim.

Call a Workers’ Compensation Attorney

If you believe that your denial was an accident, you may want to contact your employer and/or their insurance company. However, if the claim was purposefully denied, this will generally not be beneficial for you. It’s better, instead, to call a qualified workers’ compensation attorney and discuss your appeal with them.

Appealing a workers’ compensation denial in Maryland will generally involve either settling the case out of court or taking the appeal to the state’s circuit court. In almost every case, your employer’s insurance company will attempt to pay as little as possible or to uphold the denial.

That’s why it’s important to get an attorney with knowledge of workers’ compensation law in Maryland on your side. Your attorney will understand the circumstances of your denial and the best course of action to appeal it and gain the compensation you deserve. If you’ve been denied workers’ compensation in Baltimore, call Ingerman & Horwitz today at 1-800-776-4529 for a free consultation.