By: Kevin Kampschror
You are hurt at work while delivering pizzas for a local pizza place. As you may know, you must report it within seven (7) days. You also have ninety (90) days to file the all-important C-4. Once that is all done, the insurance company will have thirty (30) days to accept or deny your claim. This is the best time to consult an experienced workers’ compensation attorney. The earlier you can consult with one, the more an attorney can assist you in obtaining all the benefits you are entitled to under the law.
The adjuster may contact you to give a recorded statement about the accident. Unbeknownst to many injured workers, this is not mandatory and the insurance company cannot force you to give a recorded statement. Often times adjusters will give the impression to injured workers that if they do not give the recorded statement, then the adjuster will have to deny their claim. Again, this is not true. Depending upon the facts of your case, a recorded statement may not be necessary. For example, if you are delivering pizzas and are t-boned at an intersection to no fault of your own and a police report was generated that accurately accounts that, there may be no need to give a recorded statement.
Nevada is a no fault state for workers’ compensation and there may really be no question about compensability in this example. Therefore, the insurance company may just be fishing for information that is irrelevant as to whether they accept or deny the claim. On the flip side, sometimes it will not hurt your case at all, and can provide additional details to the adjuster to assist in their decision to accept or deny the claim.
As with many issues in workers’ comp in Nevada, whether you give a recorded statement is very case specific. Retaining an attorney will assist you with not only a recorded statement, but all other areas of work comp in order to get the benefits you are entitled to under the law. To discuss your unique case during a FREE consultation, contact Shook & Stone.
