Most employees depend on workers’ compensation insurance if they suffer a serious work related injury or illness. Insurance claims can pay for expensive medical treatment and replace at least a percentage of earnings that might be lost while the employee is being treated or recovering. Claims can sometimes be denied for a variety of reasons and this can be a worrying experience for the employee, especially if they think that they have done everything correctly. Contact an experienced workers’ comp. attorney before considering an appeal against a denied claim decision. The Sentry Insurance Group – Company Profile The Sentry Insurance Group specializes in business insurance including workers’ compensation. Sentry is one of North America’s largest mutual insurance groups with combined assets of more than 134 billion dollars. The company’s corporate headquarters are in Stevens Point, Wisconsin where around half of Sentry’s total workforce of 4,500 are employed. Sentry’s specializes in business insurance products for businesses in high or complex risk industries. These Tips May Help You Appeal a Workers’ Compensation Claim Denial It can be quite a shock to receive a letter confirming a negative decision from your state’s workers’ compensation fund. The denial of a workers’ compensation claim may be reversed if you appeal or find a simple mistake in the information that was passed on to the board by your own employer or perhaps the insurance company providing workers’ comp. insurance. Tip #1: Before you consider appealing your workers' comp claim, make sure that there were no mistakes first. Simple administrative errors may cause a temporary halt to your claim but should be sorted out relatively easily. Tip #2: Contact an attorney with workers’ compensation appeals experience. Appealing a claim denial can be a difficult task all by yourself. The attorney will be able to advise you whether an appeal is likely to succeed. If you are advised to appeal, then make sure you do this within the prescribed time limit. Tip #3: Think about the reason(s) for the denial decision. Did you fail to submit relevant documentation? Did your employer claim that your injury or illness did not happen at work? Whatever the reason you will need to find better evidence that you were injured or became ill at work and that this led to you needing medical treatment for which you want compensation. With the help of your attorney track down whatever it takes to help bolster your claim. Tip #4: Within a few weeks of receiving your request for an appeal, the workers’ compensation board will organize an administrative hearing which will listen to your reasons why you think your claim should be upheld. This is where any more evidence you and your attorney think will be useful should be presented. The presiding judge will decide whether your claim should be allowed. Why You Should Not Ignore an Experienced WC Attorney When Appealing a Claim Denial It can be easy to ignore advice when first submitting a workers’ compensation claim. It seems that the injury or illness was obviously work related and should be compensated financially. If the claim is denied, it can be hard work making sure that an appeal is successful. An experienced workers’ comp. attorney can suggest why your original claim was denied, advise you whether an appeal is likely to be effective and if so, help you to recover the compensation you deserve. *The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Sentry Insurance Group, or any other company, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
