Updated June 26, 2026
Imagine getting hurt at work, only to find out your insurance company is blaming you for the accident.
Let’s be honest, insurance companies aren’t always in the business of helping you heal; they’re in the business of protecting their bottom line. One of the most frustrating ways they avoid paying injured workers what they deserve is by playing the blame game. It’s a tactic known as the “safety rule violations,” and if you aren’t careful, it can cost you your entire workers’ comp claim.
Watch the video: Safety Rule Violation? Why Workers’ Comp May Cut Your Pay by 50% by Michael Kaplan.
What are “safety rule violations”?
A safety rule violation happens when employers and carriers claim that you failed to follow a rule they have. For example, drivers who get into an accident on the job, and then there’s a claim that the injured worker wasn’t using their seatbelt, and what ensues is the insurance company saying, “We’re giving you half of your benefits because you weren’t using a seatbelt.” That’s a safety rule violation.
If something like that happens, you need to contact an attorney right away because it’s not as simple as what the insurance company might have said.
How do safety rule violations affect me?
When the employer accuses you of violating a safety rule, the insurance carrier is allowed to take a 50% reduction of your wage loss and compensation benefits. As a result, many factors go into the carrier’s ability to take that reduction, and it’s their burden to prove that a safety rule violation occurred.
How can my employer or carrier prove a violation of a safety rule?
There are three things that your employer or the insurance company has the burden to prove:
- The first is that there was a safety rule, which doesn’t necessarily have to be in writing; it could have been provided verbally or could be an industry standard. As long as they adopted it and communicated it to you, they can prove they had a safety rule.
- Secondly, they have to prove that you willfully and deliberately violated the rule.
- And the last thing they have to prove is that the injury resulted from breaking the safety rule.
In our experience, the hardest thing that they have to prove is the second one, that you intentionally broke the rule. Additionally, if you’re negligent, forgetful, or just forget it, that isn’t enough for them to consider it a safety rule violation.
For example, if you need to wear safety goggles to perform your job and you have chosen for whatever reason not to wear them, and it has been communicated to you that there’s a rule for using safety goggles, and you’ve been written up for not wearing them, and you still choose not to wear them and you get injured, then they would be able to take the 50% reduction of your compensation benefits.
Secure the Workers’ Comp Benefits You Actually Deserve
If an insurance carrier is using safety rule violations to deny or reduce your claim, you need expert legal advice. If you don’t fight their tactics in court, they have absolutely no incentive to give you back 100% of your workers’ compensation benefits.
You don’t have to face them alone. Contact Kaplan Morrell today for a free consultation. Call or text us at 970-356-9898 – all of our consultations are completely free and confidential.
Read Video Transcript
Here is the transcript of the video:
0:00 well let’s start with the question of
0:02 how do insurance companies make their
0:03 money there’s lots of ways but one of
0:06 them is by not paying the benefits that
0:09 an injured worker deserves one of the
0:11 tactics that they use is called a safety
0:14 rule violation when the employer accuses
0:16 you of violating a safety rule the work
0:19 comp carrier is allowed to take a 50%
0:22 reduction of your wage loss and and
0:25 compensation benefits now there’s a lot
0:28 of factors that go into to the carrier
0:31 being able to take the take that
0:33 reduction and what an injured worker
0:35 doesn’t realize is that it’s their
0:37 burden to ultimately prove that a safety
0:40 rule violation did occur there are three
0:43 things that the insurance company has to
0:45 prove to take the safety rule violation
0:48 the first is that there was actually a
0:49 safety Rule now that safety rule doesn’t
0:51 necessarily have to be in writing it
0:54 could be it could have been one that is
0:55 provided verbally it could be one that
0:57 is an industry standard as long as the
1:00 employer adopted the safety Rule and
1:03 communicated it to you they’re able to
1:05 prove that they did actually have a
1:07 safety rule the second thing that they
1:09 have to prove is that you willfully and
1:11 deliberately intended to violate the
1:13 safety rule third they have to prove
1:15 that the injury resulted because you
1:17 broke the safety rule of those three the
1:19 second element that they have to prove
1:21 is the most difficult in my experience
1:24 the hardest thing that they have to
1:25 prove is that you intentionally broke
1:27 the rule if you’re negligent if you’re
1:29 forgetful if it just slips your mind
1:32 that isn’t enough for them to uh take
1:35 the safety rule violation so let’s let’s
1:37 talk about this a little bit let’s say
1:39 you need to wear safety goggles uh to
1:41 perform your job and you have chosen for
1:44 whatever reason not to do this this has
1:46 been communicated to you that you should
1:48 be wearing your safety goggles that
1:50 there’s a rule stating that you should
1:51 wear your safety goggles they’ve written
1:53 you up for not wearing your safety
1:54 goggles and lo and behold you choose not
1:57 to do it and you hurt yourself and that
2:00 would be an example of where they would
2:01 be able to take the 50% reduction of
2:04 your compensation benefits I think
2:06 anytime that a work comp carrier is
2:09 taking a safety rule violation that the
2:11 injured worker needs to get good advice
2:13 and they should call us because in our
2:15 experience if you don’t fight this in
2:17 court they have no incentive to just
2:20 give you back 100% of your benefits call
2:23 us for a free
2:25 consultation
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