As an employer, you are required to purchase worker's compensation insurance in every state but Texas, and you are required to buy it if you have at least two employees. So, what happens when you are insured, one of your employees becomes injured while working, and the insurance company refuses to pay up? Sadly, you could be sued, when it is not even your fault that the employee was injured and denied benefits. If you paid for worker's comp insurance, you and your employees should be able to access it. Here is how a worker's comp attorney will handle your particular case.
Prevent or Stop the Lawsuit Against You
Your workers comp attorney can first meet with your employee (and your employee's attorney, if applicable) to discuss the situation. The lawyers can come to an agreement to avoid the lawsuit, or your attorney can prevent the lawsuit from occurring by talking with your employee and revealing that you have nothing to do with the denial of benefits. Something can and will be worked out, and usually that involves agreeing to sue the insurance company together on a united front.
Sue the Insurance Company
The next step is to sue the insurance company for the denial of benefits. You know this employee, and you know that he/she was injured on the job. You are more than willing to sue the insurance company for the worker's comp benefits the employee is clearly owed.
The employee is also willing to be part of that lawsuit, since he/she is due for compensation. You want the benefits owed to the employee because you paid the insurance company to cover your employees, and your employee wants the benefits to help pay the medical bills and take time off of work. Ergo, the two of you can, and should, work together with your lawyer to sue the worker's comp insurance company.
Also Sue for Legal Separation of Your Insurance Contract
Some worker's comp insurance companies require that you sign an annual contract with them to get the insurance. If you are still bound by this contract in the midst of this ordeal, you may want your lawyer to sue for separation of contract. If you win, your contract with them is ripped up, and it releases you from doing any more business with that company. Then you (and your employees) are free to find a different worker's comp insurance company with which to do business.
Share12 April 2018
When I started my first small business, I had no idea how much I really didn’t know. I was fully prepared to deal with customers, sell product and even handle complaints and returns. What I wasn’t aware of was that there is so much more to it. I was lacking the legal expertise to protect the company and myself. I wanted others to benefit from my experience, mistakes and lessons learned, so I started this blog. From employment law to the legal business contracts you’ll have to sign when you form partnerships, business law is complex. I hope that the information here will help you to be better prepared when you start your business so that you’ll know when you need to call an attorney and when you can handle things yourself.
