When Should I File The Application For Adjudication of Claims?
Good afternoon her we are in sunny Southern California. The question asked is, when should I file the application for adjudication of claims? Now that is a mouth full.
What is this Application?
That is what you file after you got your claim form, it was given to your employer, already got medical treatment and even some time off work in some cases. You are usually, as the injured worker, motivated to get this form because you are running into some problems. You can’t get paid for being off work, you are not getting the medical treatment you think you should be getting, etc. There are some issues with being provided the benefits you thought you should be getting for workers compensation in the state of California, so you file the application so that you may move it forward in front of the judge.
How long do I have?
If you have done the claim form you have one year from the time of injury. Let us say that you were injured on January 30 of 2017, it safest to have files the application by January 30 of 2018. There are of course some exceptions to this rule just like there are many exceptions to other rules in workers compensation. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to go over all the exceptions because they are usually all unique on a case by case basis. I will only be talking about general information that applies to most of you. If you would like a more personalized response, we are happy to provide with a free case evaluation, complimentary by our office.
What if I don’t file within a Year?
You should do the application within a year but not all is lost if for some reason you did not. IF it is a case that has been accepted, the employer admitted said yes that they are taking responsibility and providing you with all the benefits that are required by workers compensation laws in California. You have up to one year from the last date you received benefits from that employer. It is usually not advised to wait that long for a lot of reasons but that is the “rule”. Again, I would counsel you to not wait that long and do it as soon as possible.
Case Denied?
On the other hand if you have a situation where the case has been denied, then the employer after they received the claim form has 90 days to investigate and during that 90 days they deny your case for any reasons, you are highly encouraged and in most instances it is the best advice to not wait a year to file the application. This will save you a lot of arguments with the defense attorneys on the statute of limitations from your injury.
Conclusion:
All this information is probably more than what you wanted to know but overall, try to file your application before the one-year mark and in most cases you should be okay. Like I said before, if you would like a personalized answer, we are more than happy to help. You can reach out to us through our website contact form or call us.
NOTICE: Making a false or fraudulent Workers Compensation claim is a felony subject to up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to $50,000 or double the value of the fraud, whichever is greater, or by both imprisonment and fine.