Woodland Hills Attorney for Workers' Compensation Appeals

Appealing Denied Workers' Comp Claims in California

If you have received a notice that your workers' compensation claim has been denied, you are not alone. Thousands of claims are wrongfully denied every year, even for valid injuries. A majority of these denials are often due to technicalities in paperwork or insufficient evidence proving the work-related injury.

It is important that you speak with an attorney about possibly appealing your claim. Whether your denial was for a technicality or insufficient evidence, do not give up.

Our Woodland Hills workers' compensation legal team at Rodich Law can fight for you. We have been through the appeals process thousands of times and have an in-depth understanding of what it takes to obtain the benefits you deserve.

Common Reasons Workers' Comp Claims Are Denied

Injured workers may be denied workers compensation for a variety of reasons. However, the most common reasons for a work injury claim denial include:

• You waited too long to file - The law requires that you report claims immediately. Otherwise, it can be easier for your employer to dispute that the injury even happened at work.
• Not enough medical evidence - You must provide medical records demonstrating the severity of your injury.
• Did not receive medical treatment - Once you see a doctor, you must continue receiving treatment to show the necessity of benefits.

Our workers comp attorneys can overturn a denial for any of these reasons and more.

Appealing a Workers' Comp Denial in California

Appealing the decision of workers' compensation insurance can be complex, and error at any point can jeopardize your case.

The process of appealing a worker's compensation case includes:

• Fill out an Application for Adjudication of Claim form and submit it to your local DWC office.
• The DWC office will confirm it has received your application and assign a case number. This number should be used on all documents related to your claim.
• File a Declaration of Readiness to Proceed. This form requests a hearing with a Judge. During the hearing, the judge will look over your case and attempt to reach a settlement with the claims administrator.
• If a settlement is not successful, a Trial can be scheduled before another judge, who will make a decision.
• If you would like to appeal the Judge's decision to the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, you can file a Petition for Reconsideration within 20 days.
• These steps are extremely complicated and unless you have intimate knowledge of the system should not be attempted on your own.

In the state of California, you are able to request a hearing in front of a Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) judge by filing a Declaration of Readiness to Proceed form. This informal trial gives you an opportunity to plead your case in a court of appeal, before a judge.

The workers compensation judge will hear both sides of the case - yours and the insurance company's. The judge will then decide whether the claim should be accepted or not.

Unless you have intimate knowledge of the system, this process should not be attempted on your own. Our legal team can help you build a strong case using medical evidence. We can seek the evaluation of an independent medical specialist who can provide non-biased evidence.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Start by contacting an attorney at our law firm and discussing your denied claim. We can review your situation and advise you on how to proceed with your appeals. With decades of experience behind us, we can provide effective guidance through every step of the process.