Three Ways You Can Lose Your Workers' Compensation Benefits
If your claim for workers' compensation benefits has been approved and you begin to receive your money, you need to know that it is possible that your benefits can be stopped. There are any number of reasons that this can happen. The following are among the most common.
You did not keep your doctor's appointments
It is one thing to cancel a doctor's appointment and reschedule, but if you are not showing up at all and the insurance company becomes aware of this, they can stop your checks. These medical appointments may relate to physical therapy or relate to monitoring your recovery as your body heals. You need to keep in mind that there is seldom a specific time frame for your benefits. You may need more time to heal or less depending upon your progress. But if you don't have a doctor's supervision, and you don't keep your medical appointments, you are giving an insurance company an excuse to cancel your benefits.
You have been seen participating in recreational activities
This can be as simple as riding a bicycle or throwing a football around at a local park. Often it will be a coworker that sees this happening and will report you because they may be angry that they are working for their paycheck, but you are having fun while collecting a paycheck. If your benefits are canceled because of this, you need to contact an attorney because there remains the issue of evidence that this happened, along with the proof that your activity was inconsistent with your injury. Some physical activity may still be possible with your injury.
You have been seen on vacation
Often this relates directly to postings on social media sites. You may have pictures of you and others on what is apparently a vacation or at least a weekend trip. Perhaps there are photos of you at a ski resort or at the beach. However, sometimes these photos can be old and were before your injury. But even if you got away for a weekend, this by itself is not enough to lose your benefits. A day at the beach or simply being at a ski resort is not enough to lose your benefits. Unfortunately, it will be easy for an insurance company to conclude that you are not hurt and discontinue your benefits.
If you are currently receiving workers' compensation benefits, they can be withdrawn for many reasons. You may have missed medical appointments, you were observed engaged in physical activities, or you were found to be on a vacation. If you lose your benefits for these reasons or any other, contact a local workers' comp attorney immediately.
