Every year, millions of American workers get injured on the job. Most of these workers file workers’ compensation claims seeking benefits to pay for their medical care, time lost at work, and other injury-related costs. State government agencies that oversee workers’ compensation insurance programs try to make filing a claim seem easy and accommodating of workers’ needs. Those efforts are misleading.
In many states, including Nevada, the process of applying for and obtaining workers’ compensation benefits comes riddled with traps for unwary workers, all designed to reduce or foreclose their rights to benefits.
To avoid falling into these traps, injured workers should retain an experienced workers’ compensation attorney to help them file a claim or to appeal a claim denial. Here is how a workers’ comp lawyer can help you.
Workers’ compensation insurance is mandatory insurance your employer carries to protect you against injuries you sustain while on the job. Most people think of workers’ comp claims as limited to heavy labor jobs, such as working in construction. However, although laborers do account for nearly 8 percent of all workers’ compensation claimants, even office workers and others who work in non-physically-demanding jobs can get injured and need workers’ comp benefits.
When a Nevada worker sustains any kind of injury on the job, workers’ compensation entitles the worker to some or all of the following benefits, depending upon the nature and severity of the injury:
It seems simple enough – you get injured on the job, you file a claim, and you receive benefits. Do not be deceived. In 2019, for example, over 12,000 workers’ compensation claims were filed in Nevada. As of January 5, 2020, however, fewer than 5,000 of those claims were paid.
Obtaining workers’ comp benefits in Nevada is anything but a sure thing. In fact, it can be downright difficult, as the statistics bear out.
Workers’ compensation insurance is still insurance. Yes, it is state-mandated. Yes, it is heavily regulated. But at the end of the day, it is a form of insurance issued by an insurance company that exists to make money, paid for by an employer that wants to keep its insurance costs as low as possible. Combine those two factors and what do you get? A strong incentive for workers’ compensation insurance carriers to deny claims and for employers (and business-friendly politicians) to make it less-than-simple to obtain benefits.
You might think your workers’ compensation claim is an open and shut case. You are probably right. Unfortunately, that will not prevent a workers’ comp insurance carrier from trying to find any reason—no matter how trivial or unfair it might seem—to deny your claim, such as:
If the bullet points above sound like accusations that someone is committing insurance fraud, that’s because they are. Workers’ compensation insurers do not want to pay claims. Their default mindset is that every injured worker is faking or exaggerating an injury. They will make any argument they can to prove that assumption, even if it has no basis in fact.
The best way to avoid or fight back against a claim denial is to hire an experienced Nevada workers’ compensation attorney to help you obtain your benefits. Here’s how.
Along the way, lawyers play a critical role in advising injured workers on how to avoid slip-ups that can sink their benefits claims. Workers frequently do not realize how they put themselves under a microscope when they file a claim, and risk having their rights curtailed if, for example, they post to social media in a manner that makes them look healthier than they really are. Do not risk making mistakes. Hire a lawyer instead.
You have the right in Nevada to file a workers’ compensation claim if you get injured on the job. It is illegal for your employer to retaliate, such as by firing or demoting you, in reaction to you filing a workers’ comp claim.
Unfortunately, that does not mean employers always follow the rules.
If your employer has taken “adverse” employment action against you because you filed a workers’ comp claim, an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer can advise you on your rights to take legal action for damages.
Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Fight for You.
Hurt on the job? An experienced workers’ compensation attorney can tell you how you can obtain the benefits you deserve.
Benson & Bingham
626 S 10th St
Las Vegas, NV 89101
702-382-9797
Benson & Bingham Accident Injury Lawyers
Summerlin Location
11441 Allerton Park Dr #100
Las Vegas, NV 89135
Phone: 702-684-6900
Fax: 702-382-9798
Downtown Location
626 S 10th St
Las Vegas, NV 89101
Phone: 702-382-9797
Fax: 702-382-9798
Henderson Location
9230 S Eastern Ave #155
Las Vegas, NV 89123
Phone: 702-463-2900
Fax: 702-382-9798
Reno Location
1320 E Plumb Lane Ste A
Reno, NV 89502
Phone: 775-600-6000
Fax: 702-382-9798
Joseph L. Benson II, and Ben J. Bingham, Personal Injury Attorneys
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