compensation Archives - Foreign policy

When Workers’ Comp Won’t Pay: 3 Steps to Take

Published on November 28, 2020

Business

A workplace injury is never ideal. The silver lining, though, is that in the United States, in every state except for Texas, employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ comp is an insurance that protects both an employer and an employee in the case of a workplace injury.

Workers rely on this safety net for protection, so when a claim gets denied, your safety net is cut, and you continue to fall towards the ground. Fortunately, you are not without options. There are several steps you can take to appeal your claim denial and have a trapezist swing in at the last moment and pluck you out of the air before crashing to the ground.

How Does Workers’ Comp Work?

Workers’ compensation is in theory, a hassle-free way for an injured worker to get compensation for their injury so that they can pay their medical bills, rest, recover, and hopefully get back to work. Workers’ comp protects employers from having to defend themselves in court cases every time that an employee gets injured at work.

For large companies in dangerous industries like construction, workers’ comp provides protection from countless hours of litigation every year. Without workers’ compensation insurance, between the money spent on defense and the eventual payouts to workers, many companies would not be able to survive the financial toll of employees getting injured.

Normally in a workers’ compensation case, immediately following an injury you would go to your supervisor to report the incident. Obviously, if the injury is severe enough, you would first go to the hospital and then notify your employer after you have been treated. Once informed, your employer should give you a claims form to fill out.

If you weren’t rushed to the hospital, you should receive a recommendation for an approved physician to treat your injuries. After you submit your claim, you will be contacted by a representative of your company’s insurance. After this, your claim should be approved, and you should be able to start receiving your workers’ comp benefits. These benefits should cover your medical costs and partial costs for lost wages.

In cases of a severe injury, where you are unable to fully recover and cannot return to work afterward, you should receive a large settlement payment as well. This money can help cover the cost of future lost wages and other secondary expenses.

Unfortunately, things don’t always go as they should. Workers’ comp claims can be denied for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, claims get denied for legitimate reasons. Other times, the denials are completely bogus. Most of the time, they fall somewhere in-between.

Some possible reasons that your claim may be denied include if the insurance company believes you:

Were under the influence of drugs or alcohol
Were fighting
Were playing games rather than working
Suffered your injury away from work
Exaggerated your injury
Failed to inform your employer of your injury in time
Failed to file claim papers on time
Did not receive medical treatment
Were not treated by an approved medical provider
Missed doctor’s appointments
Failed to follow medical advice
Were injured as the result of a preexisting condition

How Can I Appeal My Claim Denial?

In a situation where your claim has been denied, you are most likely going to want to appeal the decision and to continue fighting to get the compensation that you deserve. There are five main steps you can take to continue fighting your claim denial.

Step One: Hire an Attorney

Filing an original workers’ compensation claim is something that most workers can manage on their own without a problem. However, when it comes to appealing a denied claim, bringing in an experienced workers’ compensation attorney to help make sure your case is strong is always a good idea. With the guidance of a lawyer, it is possible to get a personal injury payout for serious work injuries. Learn more about hiring a workers’ compensation attorney.

Step Two: File an Appeal

When a workers’ comp claim is denied, you will receive a letter that will contain information about why your claim was denied. This letter should also contain information about when and how to appeal the decision, along with a notification of the deadline to appeal. Make sure to file your appeal before the deadline, as failure to do so potentially forfeits your claim.

Step Three: File a Workers’ Comp Complaint

If you have evidence that your claim was denied due to fraud, administrative error, or other irregularity, you can request a complaint form from your state’s workers’ compensation officials. A valid complaint can help your case and possibly improve your settlement amount.

Step Four: Request to Reopen a Workers’ Comp Claim

Even if your appeal has been denied and your complaint is determined to be invalid, you are not necessarily out of options. It can still be possible to have a closed claim reopened, sometimes years after the claim has been finalized. In some instances, you may even reopen a claim that was not denied to receive further support beyond the initial ruling.

Some common reasons to reopen a claim include:

New evidence that proves the validity of your claim
New evidence that shows your original award amount was unfair
New evidence proving an administrative error that affected your claim
New evidence of fraud
A return or worsening of your injury

Step Five: Request an Administrative Hearing

When you don’t feel like you are going to get a fair decision from the insurance company, you can request an administrative hearing. An administrative hearing puts your fate at the mercy of the administrative judge rather than the insurance company. This is often a welcome path for those who file workers’ comp claims, as insurance companies are notorious for doing everything they can to pay out as little as possible.

Should you end up requesting an administrative hearing, if you haven’t already hired a workers’ comp attorney, now is the time. You can bet that an insurance company will be bringing their full legal might against you to try to defeat your case and hang on to their money. Attempting to take on these highly experienced professionals without one of your own is like bringing a knife to a gunfight.

A Denial Can Be Devastating

Having a workers’ comp claim denied can leave you feeling hopeless. When the injury you suffered on the job is severe, you are already left with so many question marks in your life and possibly face many life changes. Being told you will not receive financial compensation to help you deal with everything can be the straw breaking the camel’s back.

It’s important to know all of your options when faced with a situation like this so that you have all of the tools you need to fight this decision and get the compensation that you need and deserve.

4 Reasons to Be Cautious with Cash Advance Loans

Published on April 13, 2020

Business

A loan agreement is a contract whereby one person – the lender, undertakes to hand over to the borrower a certain amount of money or other fungible items – and the borrower undertakes to repay the same amount of money after some time. That is, the same amount of things of the same kind and of the same quality within a fixed time period, with or without compensation.

The lender may be a bank or other financial institution, but also non-banking and non-financial institutions (individuals and legal entities).

Have you chosen or plan to opt for cash advance as a solution in situations where you quickly need less money?

As a small business owner, you invest more than sweat and tears in your business: you also invest in savings and risk personal credit to get started. Loans and other financing options may not seem feasible at first or you are wary of taking on commercial debt, but financing your business through borrowing can be the right way to help you grow your business.

Read on to find out if you need to consider it. Below we explain how this works and how to be cautious.

How does it work?

All you need to do is pick up the paper and fill it out. Also many, like BellwetherCapital, offer you online application, which is much more convenient. If this goes well and you are approved, you get a loan (your desired amount). This amount should remain less than the anticipated fees. The next item is about funds… You will probably be required to give the lender a check for the money you want (along with the amount). Over the next day (scheduled for payment), your borrowed check amount will be charged by the lender, all together with additional fees – if they are authorized to do so. In the second case, the check can also be cashed by the lender, of course, if you wrote it.

Why should you be cautious?

Costs – You need to be careful when evaluating the cost of borrowing a cash advance. The fees you have to pay can range in large percentages. However, they can go much further than that. If you did not immediately understand the amount of the repayment rate, equate the borrowed sums of money with the loan and compare it with the national average APR and you will understand.

Fees – It comes with a high price. Interest is very high and banks charge huge additional fees. Although not recommended, it is the best of the worst options and you need to know how to use it. It may also be possible for the lender to offer you a new loan (even though you have not repaid the old one), which of course comes with a new fee. This is how debt refinancing is done.

No checking, but it can also be a risk – Obviously, when companies borrow money without additional information on income, bonds, and good credit history, they are taking a risk. Therefore, interest rates on these borrowings are very high.

Because cash loans only offer short-term loans, interest is usually set for each day, so the rate can vary widely depending on the company and the law.

These organizations are always ready to assist in situations of financial need. They are not interested in credit history, which is why they are often called bad credit loans. However, the main advantages of these companies are their availability to everyone, flexible conditions for the client, as well as the ability to quickly provide cash.

Overdraw is possible – Which in most cases contributes to more debt, ie. Extending the duration of a debt is an overdraft on the current account by the lender. This is evidenced by the fact that a higher percentage of people confirmed that it often happens on the day of payment.

If you need a money borrowing, then surely you have a big money problem that you need to solve this way. The assumption is that you have a sufficient amount of money to cover your upcoming expenses as a consequence of your choice. However, it is not always ideal and there are cases that are unable to cover this financial endeavor or even to cover basic expenses such as bills, rent, etc.

The question is, how will you pay off your credit card bill? To sum up, people who choose to borrow in cash are more likely to pay down debt – it’s simple, interest rates on this form of payment are higher and that’s the reason. Don’t risk falling behind because you pay with a credit card.

Keep a record of the use of cash advances. If you find yourself paying for basic things like groceries, you need to look back at your budget and expenses and work hard to strike a balance between the two.

In what other ways can you get cash advance loans?

Payday alternative – There are various names, one of them is – payday loan, short term or cash loan… This is one small loan, first and foremost. They are much cheaper than so-called payday loans. They are much more favorable than personal loans and sometimes cheaper than overdrafting on your checking account. There is a cash limit you can get, and it is usually lower than the loan you have.

Credit card cash advances – This type represents the most popular variant of advances and works by now borrowing via credit card. According to your credit card company, you can get money at an ATM or in the form of a check (deposited / deposited with a bank). The main feature of this type is the interest rate, which is on average 24% – 9% higher than the average.

Credit Counseling – Represents several types of financial support for small businesses, with payments that typically mean payments made less than 24 months (shorter period of time) and payments every business day (smaller, regular payments). imply length of payment

Conclusion:

While taking on debt is not a decision you should make lightly, it can also be a crucial tool for the success of your small business. Think carefully when making your decision and consider both the positives and the potential risk.