Don’t Let the Clock Run Out on Your Work Injury Claim

Dec 18, 2024 | Claims Process

Don’t Let the Clock Run Out on Your Work Injury Claim – We commonly receive calls from clients when it’s already too late to help them because their case is already closed, and they don’t even know it’s closed. They say they didn’t sign anything or get a check or agree to have their case closed, but that doesn’t matter.

Insurance companies can close your claim by sending a paper called Final Admission of Liability, which doesn’t look very important and it’s really hard to understand, but it IS very important, and if you don’t do anything within 30 days your case will be closed.

Why letting the clock run out can affect you in a big way on your work injury claim?

We had a case where an injured worker received $17,000 for his shoulder injury. The insurance company had the option to pay him according to one formula where they paid $17,000 or another formula where they would have had to pay him $70,000.

The insurance company obviously picked the cheaper one, they filed the final admission, but he doesn’t recall getting it, and 30 days later the case was closed. He told us that he didn’t call earlier because he was waiting for what the doctor would say, and he was waiting to hear from the insurance company, and he didn’t call until he was tired of waiting.

What the company was really doing was running out the clock, because once 30 days had passed the case was closed and nothing could be done about it.

When should I call an attorney?

The best time to talk with a lawyer when you get injured on the job is as soon as possible, even if you don’t think you need a lawyer, even if you think everything will be fine, even if you think the insurance company and the doctors will respond, it’s better to call an attorney.

There are several times when everything is going pretty well with our prospective clients and our help isn’t necessary, but there are times when it is, and waiting can make a big difference.

Also, it’s good to bring an attorney in at the beginning because they can help you avoid doing things that you wouldn’t think would affect your rights but do. Being informed will avoid many problems down the road.