Filing a Claim
The steps that decide most claims before anyone argues about the law: reporting the injury and the deadlines that can end your case, proving the injury happened at work, handling a pre-existing condition honestly, the independent medical exam, what to do when the insurer refuses to authorize treatment, and whether you need a lawyer.
All Filing a Claim guides
- How to Prove Your Injury Happened at Work
How to prove a work injury for workers' comp: the two-part legal test, key evidence, and hard cases like unwitnessed falls.
- Who Is the Claims Adjuster (and What Do They Do)?
The claims adjuster decides your workers' comp claim but isn't neutral or your enemy. Learn what they control, what they don't, and how to escalate.
- The Nurse Case Manager in Your Comp Claim
Who the nurse case manager on your workers' comp claim really works for, what boundaries you can set, and how to raise it with your state's agency if a line gets crossed.
- What to Do If Your Employer Won't Report Your Injury
Your employer won't report your work injury? In most states you can file with the state agency yourself - here's how, why deadlines still run, and what exceptions exist.
- How to Report a Work Injury (and the Deadlines That Can Kill Your Claim)
Two clocks start the moment you're hurt at work: notice to your employer and filing your claim. Both deadlines vary by state, and missing either one can cost you benefits.
- The Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)
What an FCE is, why it drives your work restrictions, and the one rule that protects your claim: give honest, consistent effort.
- Workers' Comp and Pre-Existing Conditions
Hurt a bad back or old knee injury again at work? Learn why aggravation of a pre-existing condition is usually covered by workers' comp.
- The Recorded Statement: What the Adjuster Is Really Asking
A recorded statement can help or hurt your workers' comp claim. Here's what it is, why it's asked, and how to answer safely and honestly.
- Your Medical Records and Privacy in a Workers' Comp Claim
Filing a comp claim opens your injury's medical records to the insurer - but not your whole life. What you give up, what you keep, and how the rules vary by state.
- When You Didn't Know Your Injury Was Work-Related
Think you missed the deadline because your injury crept up slowly? You may not be too late - here's how the discovery rule works.
- The Independent Medical Exam (IME) in Workers' Comp
What an Independent Medical Exam (IME) really is in workers' comp, why insurers request one, how to prepare, and what to do if the report is unfavorable.
- The Statute of Limitations for a Workers' Comp Claim
The deadline to file a workers' comp claim varies by state and injury type. Learn when the clock starts, what pauses it, and what to do if you're late.
- Drug Testing After a Work Injury
A positive drug test after a work injury doesn't automatically end your claim. Here's how the intoxication defense actually works, and what varies by state.
- What to Do After a Workplace Injury
Hurt on the job? Report it in writing right away, get medical care, and follow your claim steps closely - missing a deadline can cost you benefits.
- Do You Need a Workers' Comp Lawyer (and How Do Fees Work)?
When a workers' comp claim needs a lawyer, when it probably doesn't, and how contingency fees and agency fee approval generally work.
- Utilization Review: When Comp Denies the Treatment Your Doctor Ordered
Your doctor ordered treatment and the insurer said no. Here's what utilization review is, why it happens, and how to appeal it fast.
- Can You Choose Your Own Doctor in Workers' Comp?
Whether you can pick your own doctor for a workers' comp injury depends on your state's rules. Here's how the systems differ and what to do.
- What to Say (and Not Say) After a Work Injury
Report promptly, describe every symptom honestly, and stay consistent - plain-English guidance on what helps and what hurts a workers' comp claim.