After suffering a severe injury at work, many people rely on workers’ compensation benefits to help cover necessities as part of recovery.
While these benefits may not be as much as regular work wages, they allow an injured individual to heal without experiencing undue financial burdens in the process. Keep reading to learn more about when your compensation benefits will kick in and what you can expect regarding payment schedules and so forth.
When do Workers’ Compensation Benefits Start?
According to Utah state lawn, insurance carriers have 21 days after learning about your work injury to either:
- Begin compensation payments.
- Deny your claim.
- Inform you that additional investigation is required.
In cases where further investigation is necessary, the insurer will have an additional 24 days to determine if they will accept or deny your claim. Given the timeframes involved in Utah by law, it’s always best to initiate this process of seeking compensation soon after your accident.
Reporting Your Injury and Filing Your Claim
Once you have sustained an injury at work, be sure to inform your employer as soon as it happens. Doing this will get the workers’ compensation process moving sooner rather than later. Your employer must file paperwork, and you will need to undergo a doctor’s exam. Obtaining proper documentation of your injury will help you receive benefits sooner.
How Long Will Workers’ Compensation Benefits Last?
The payment schedule of compensation will depend on the nature of your injury. In Utah, the maximum amount of time for temporary partial benefits and permanent partial disability benefits is 312 weeks. Depending on the injury and its severity, not all injured workers will require or use Utah state law’s maximum amount of time.
What If There Is a Denied Claim or Delay?
If the company denies your claim, you can appeal the denial to receive compensation. The appeals process will add time to the overall start of receiving benefits, however.
Since it can take 21 days for an initial response, 24 days after that in cases where additional investigation is required, and even more time for the appeals process, a person can be months away from their injury without receiving any benefits.
Contact the Attorneys of Flickinger Sutterfield & Boulton
If you’ve had your workers’ compensation claim denied or require legal assistance with these issues, our attorneys are here to help. We can go over the reasons for the initial denial of your claim and suggest actions to receive your rightful injury benefits. Having experienced litigators on your side can avoid unnecessary delays and numerous headaches regarding the process.
To learn more about compensation benefits and other issues related to workplace accidents and recovery, be sure to contact our team of work injury lawyers. The attorneys of Flickinger Sutterfield & Boulton are here to help you in your time of legal need. We have offices in Provo, Orem, Saratoga Springs, and West Jordan and serve Utah citizens all over the Utah and Salt Lake Valley.