When you suffer an injury in your line of work, you are entitled to worker’s compensation to cover your medical bills, lost pay, and rehabilitation. In Arizona, all employers with more than one full-time or part-time employee must pay a premium for worker’s compensation insurance as stipulated by the Arizona industrial commission. However, filing a workers’ compensation claim may not be easy, and there are some things to know beforehand.
What is the eligibility for worker’s compensation?
Arizona’s legal requirement for workers’ compensation insurance coverage for injured employees applies to all employers. They might face the consequences if they don’t comply with this.
According to Arizona law, you should receive workers’ compensation if you are an employee of a business with more than one person working full- or part-time and you sustain an injury at work.
Your employer will pay the premium if any claims for workers’ compensation arise. The Industrial Commission of Arizona, or ICA, can step in to provide you with the compensation you are due for your workers’ compensation case if your employer does not offer you workers’ compensation coverage.
Most of the time, it won’t matter how you were injured or whether it was someone’s fault. In Arizona, the likelihood is high that you can file a workers’ compensation claim if you are wounded. The only need to qualify for benefits is that work-related activity brought on your injury.
Filing the claim
The workers’ compensation claims process is as follows: first, you must inform your employer of your injury before you may file a claim. It is their legal responsibility to notify the ICA of your occupational injuries. The next step is to submit a claim to the ICA by completing a worker’s report of injury form, which a workers’ compensation lawyer in Arizona can help you with.
Alternatively, you and your doctor can fill out a worker’s and physician’s injury report while you receive treatment for your workplace accident. Your doctor’s office will submit it to the ICA on your behalf. In either case, you have a year from the date of your workplace injury to bring this claim.
When your claim is received, the ICA will notify you via an acknowledgment letter. Within two weeks of submitting your claim, you should phone them if you haven’t heard from them to ensure they received it. The insurer will then determine whether to offer you benefits; this procedure usually takes three weeks.
Receiving medical treatment
In Arizona, if you get harmed at work, your employer can choose which physician would perform your initial post-injury medical evaluation and initiate your treatment. You can then visit any health professional you desire after that.
Your workers’ compensation is supposed to pay for any reasonable and necessary medical care related to your employment injuries. Thanks to workers’ compensation, you can undergo this treatment, which covers all your medical expenses.
The takeaway
Within 90 days following the initial decision, you are entitled to request a hearing if your request for benefits is denied.
