Safety Rule Violations – One of the ways that insurance companies make money is by not paying the benefits that the injured worker deserves, and one of the tactics they use is called the “safety rule violation”.
How does a safety rule violation 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, there are a lot of factors that go into the carrier being able to take that reduction, and it’s their burden to prove that a safety rule violation did occur.
How is a safety rule violation proven?
First, there are 3 things that the insurance company has to prove to take the safety rule violation. The first one is that there was a safety rule, which doesn’t necessarily have to be in writing, it could have been provided verbally, or it 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 because you broke 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 slipped your mind, that isn’t enough for them to take the 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.
We’re here to help
Finally, if an insurance carrier is taking the safety rule violation you should get good advice because if you don’t fight it in court, they have no incentive to just give you back 100% of your benefits.
If you or your loved ones have been injured on the job in Colorado, we can help you. Call or text us at 970-356-98-98, all of our consultations are free and confidential.
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