Chronic Pain After A Workers’ Comp Accident

Chronic pain is a staggering affliction, sidelining millions of Americans each year. To really reflect the full scale of this affliction’s burden on this country, the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention has estimated that just over 50 million Americans suffer from it.

In other words, chronic pain afflicts over 20 percent of the total U.S. population, or one in five Americans. As you can imagine, this affliction afflicts an immense strain on worker productivity; a recent 2021 study covered by Forbes found that workers who suffered from chronic pain missed an average of 10.3 work days so far this year, compared to an average 2.8 work days missed for workers who didn’t suffer from it.

But that productivity strain on businesses is small potatoes relative to the physical, emotional, and financial strain afflicting sufferers of chronic pain. And although their ability to earn a living may have been put on hold, the costs required to maintain a living will not be placed on hold.

So if you’re dealing with ongoing chronic pain from a workplace accident, how do you prove it? How can an El Monte workers’ comp attorney help you overcome obstacles to benefits?

Benefits for Chronic Pain

When you have a work-related injury, you should have your medical coverage paid for and lost wages covered while you cannot work. Even if your initial acute injury recovers, you might experience debilitating pain that lingers and prevents you from working. If the pain stems from a workplace injury, you deserve to continue receiving workers’ comp benefits for the ongoing treatment you need and work you have to miss. Unfortunately, many insurance companies deny chronic pain claims for different reasons.

Workers’ Comp Denial Reasons

Fairly or unfairly, in good faith or bad faith, your employer and the insurance company may attempt to employ a myriad of reasons to deny your worker’s compensation claim, even if chronic pain remains a persistent hindrance that keeps you from working effectively. They may attempt to deny your worker’s comp benefits by claiming that:

• Your injury did not happen at work
• You did not notify your employer in time
• You did not receive approved treatment
• You did not file paperwork in time
• Your claim was disputed for another reason
• Your underlying injury has healed, so you should return to work

Many people make mistakes during the claim process that jeopardize their claims, or they might not know how to appeal a denial. After all, most people aren’t workers’ compensation experts, nor should they be expected to be workers’ comp experts. Even if they are familiar with all of the ins and outs of the workers’ compensation claims process, it may be difficult for them to follow through with it, especially if they’re dealing with serious injuries and medical treatment.

A competent and trusted El Monte workers’ compensation attorney will have the sufficient knowledge and means necessary to help you work through your workers’ compensation claim, file it, and overcome any unfair hurdles that are preventing you from claiming the total workers’ compensation you deserve.