[fusion_dropcap boxed=”no” boxed_radius=”” class=”” id=”” color=”” text_color=””]I[/fusion_dropcap] recently saw a claim where the injured worker had an accepted, fairly severe injury. The worker did not regularly see his doctor for the condition and the claim was administratively closed for failure to see the doctor. The worker did not hire an attorney until over a year after the closure. The result is a very significant financial loss to that injured worker. The point of all this is that first and foremost, any injured worker needs to see his or her doctor on a regular basis. If they get a letter from the insurance company letting them know that their claim will be closed if they don’t get in to see their doctor, the injured worker needs to immediately get in to see the doctor.
There are other potential explanations for why a worker would not respond to that letter. If they move and the insurance company is not made aware of the change of address, they may send the correspondence to the wrong address. All of this speaks to another good reason to have an attorney. The attorney’s address isn’t going to change, and the attorney monitors all of that correspondence and is able to assist the worker in making sure they do the correct thing. Workers’ compensation claims are very difficult to maneuver. The law is such that an injured worker can lose his or her rights without even knowing that it’s going to happen. Again, an attorney there isn’t allowed to charge for his or her time. They have to be instrumental in getting compensation to get paid, and in many instances they get paid by the insurance company. Everybody needs someone that they can count on to be on their side, and for the injured worker, it is his or her attorney.
