San Fernando Valley Attorneys for Denied Workers’ Compensation

Every day workers in the State of California experience an injury on the job. When a worker experiences an injury arising out of their employment, they can file a workers’ compensation claim to receive benefits for that injury. However, an injured employee may be denied benefits for a number of reasons—regardless of whether the denial was proper. At the Law Offices of Kropach & Kropach, we have experience handling claims cases where an employee was denied workers compensation benefits.

Why a Workers’ Compensation Gets Denied

Although applying for workers’ compensation benefits is a common occurrence and many businesses and insurance companies know the process well, the law itself provides numerous reasons as to why your employer (or your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier) would deny your claim. Those reasons include:

• The employee was injured off-duty (during non-working hours).
• No medical care was sought or needed.
• Another party (a third party) is primarily responsible for facts that led to the injury.
• The employee was intoxicated with drugs and/or alcohol.
• The employee was acting outside of the scope of their job duties.

Although your employer or their insurance carrier may have denied an initial claim for workers’ compensation benefits, that does not mean you still are not entitled to benefits. In these situations, having an experienced workers compensation attorney by your side to fight for your rights makes all of the difference.

Filing an Appeal After Being Denied Benefits

Workers injured as a result of their employment are commonly denied benefits. When this happens, and the injured worker legitimately feels their claim should have been approved, the State of California provides workers a comprehensive appeal process to fight for those benefits.

The Law Offices of Kropach & Kropach have extensive experience appealing denied claims. Once you contact our office, we will begin to investigate the circumstances of your injury and plan our next steps. Typical workers’ compensation claims that have been denied will be appealed to the Workers Comp Appeals Board (WCAB). On appeal, the board will determine whether to expedite the claim based on the particular facts of your case through a “priority conference” or process the claim through the typical appeals process.

During a conference, a WCBA judge will review the relevant facts of the case and attempt to reach an amicable solution between the parties. If the parties cannot find a solution, the judge will then set a trial schedule where the parties will commence exchanging discovery of all relevant documents and information before the trial can take place.

Call A San Fernando Valley Workers’ Compensation Today

If you or a loved one has recently been injured at work and was denied workers’ compensation benefits, one of our experienced San Fernando Valley workers’ compensation denial attorneys is here to help. Our team has years of experience investigating workers’ compensation claims, appealing workers’ compensation claim denials, and securing benefits for our clients. Please call our Encino, CA office at 818-609-7005 today for a free consultation or contact us online for an appointment.