Workplace injuries and illnesses can be extremely worrying, especially if they are serious. Will you be able to keep your job if you have to obtain extensive medical treatment? Can you get compensated for wages that have been lost? How about the cost of medical treatment! Most employers should have taken out workers’ compensation insurance with a major insurance provider like one of the Berkshire Hathaway insurance companies. A claim for compensation should result in a payment that covers medical treatment and part of any lost earnings. If you have been injured at work and believe you are entitled to benefits, you should speak with a workers' compensation attorney as soon as possible. Berkshire Hathaway – Company Profile It is quite likely that your employer has workers’ compensation insurance cover with one of the insurance companies owned or controlled by Berkshire Hathaway, one of the world’s largest private conglomerates. Berkshire Hathaway’s main headquarters are in Omaha, Nebraska, but your employer will have insured with one of the companies it has a controlling share in, like GEICO or Gen Re. Berkshire Hathaway is a holding corporation that has a huge and very diverse portfolio from shares in Coca Cola to insurance, airlines, diamonds and IT companies like Apple and IBM. Tips to Help You if Your WC Claim Has Been Denied by a Berkshire Hathaway Owned Insurer If your workers’ compensation claim has been denied, you will receive a letter from your state workers’ compensation board explaining why it was denied. There may be a very simple reason why your claim was denied, or it may be more complex. Here are some tips to help you work out what to do. Tip no. 1: Talk to your employer and / or your employer’s insurer about your claim denial. It may be that there was a mix up with the dates or some other simple documentation error. It is best to eliminate this first before considering an appeal. Tip no. 2: If there is no simple mistake, you will need to appeal the decision. Before you do this, talk to an experienced workers comp. attorney to see what advice he or she has to offer you. Tip no. 3: If you are advised to go ahead with an appeal, make sure you check deadlines for submitting the appeal and paperwork. An appeal normally has to be submitted within a specific time frame after the decision by the board. Tip no. 4: You may need to obtain documentation that was missing the first time you submitted your claim. This will depend entirely on the reason for denial. It could be that you did not submit evidence of medical treatment, for example. You may have to make a copy of a time sheet that shows you were at work when an accident took place. Your attorney should be able to identify what documentation might be useful when you submit your appeal. Tip no. 5: You will be expected to attend an administrative hearing into your appeal within a reasonably short time period after the appeal letter has been received. This is when any documentation that you think will support your original claim, but you did not submit the first time, should be presented. How a WC Attorney Can Help You With a Denied Claim If your workers’ compensation claim has been denied, it is unlikely that you will be able to successfully appeal the decision unless you have the help of a workers’ compensation attorney. Even if you did not think you needed one when you made your initial claim, this is the time that an attorney really becomes useful. For a start, the attorney can judge whether an appeal is likely to have a chance of succeeding. More importantly, the attorney can advise you why your first claim was denied and what you can do to correct it. This usually comes down to making sure that you can a) prove that the injury or illness happened while at work, b) that the injury or illness happened while you were genuinely working and not because you were being deliberately negligent and c) that you had genuine medical treatment and have proof of what it cost . *The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Berkshire Hathaway, or any other company, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
