What if the Workers’ Comp Adjuster Won’t Return Your Calls?

Workers’ compensation benefits are meant to help workers who are injured or develop work-related illnesses. They provide employees with income and coverage for medical care as they recover, bringing some level of financial relief to a very stressful situation. If you file a claim, a workers’ compensation adjuster, also called a claim or case manager, handles that claim. 

What happens if your workers’ compensation adjuster won’t return your calls? How do you get the financial relief you are entitled to receive?

Workers’ compensation lawyers at John Foy & Associates have comprehensive knowledge of workers’ compensation laws and are experienced in navigating the claims process. When your claims adjuster does not return your call, call us.

Who Employs a Workers’ Compensation Claims Adjuster?

The insurance company providing your workers’ compensation benefits is the case manager’s employer. While you might think the adjuster is supposed to be on your side, they are really on their employer’s side. Insurance companies want to minimize their payments to protect their assets.

Workers’ compensation benefits are a critical component of your recovery. When you apply for them, and especially when you have to fight for them, you need your own ally. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney works and fights for you, not an insurance company or your employer. 

What a Claims Adjuster Does

A claims adjuster evaluates your claim and assesses how much it will cost the insurance company. Often, the adjusters feel pressure from the company to keep costs as low as possible. Components of the adjuster’s job include:

• Investigating your claim 
• Getting a recorded statement from you about the accident and your injuries or illness
• Speaking to your employer about the incident or circumstances causing your injury or illness
• Contacting witnesses who can provide more information about the accident
• Deciding whether your claim will be approved or denied
• Organizing appointments with authorized physicians and approving medical care options
• Determining the value of your case and presenting settlement options

Watch Your Words

Before speaking to a claims adjuster, prepare for those discussions with your attorney. Remember, the adjuster wants to get you back to work as soon as possible so the insurance company can stop your payments. The adjuster knows how to use your words and responses to questions in their favor to achieve their goal.

For example, even the ordinary response of “I’m fine.” when an adjuster asks, “How are you?” can be used to “prove” your condition is not truly worthy of time away from work.

Why a Claims Adjuster Might Not Return Your Calls

Workers’ compensation adjusters have strategic reasons for not returning your calls. Of course, these strategies only benefit the insurance company. 

To Delay the Claims Process

When an adjuster refuses to return your calls, they are really slowing down or dragging out the claims process, which works to increase your desperation. They know that without income but with bills piling up, you are feeling serious financial stress.

The more stress you feel, the more desperate you become, and that desperation can push you into accepting any settlement they offer, even one that does not come close to meeting your needs. 

Because They Don’t Have to Answer

Adjusters are not legally required to comply with a strict timeline for managing your claim. Therefore, they can get away with ignoring your calls, slowing down the process, and making you desperate enough to take an insultingly low settlement. Sometimes, adjusters claim they have not responded because they did not receive the documentation you were required to send. Usually, this is just another excuse to slow things down.

You should not have to put up with these dishonorable tactics. Instead, have a workers’ compensation attorney from the Strong Arm of Georgia manage your case. Adjusters are less likely to employ their strategies on an attorney who knows the rules and is experienced in holding adjusters and insurance companies accountable for following them.

They Are Overworked

Sometimes, an adjuster does not return your calls because they are overworked. The insurance company just has not hired enough employees. While this situation is not the adjuster’s fault, it is not your fault either. 

You still need and deserve to have your claim reviewed promptly. Pressure from an attorney might be what that adjuster and company need to give your case attention. 

What You Can Do When an Adjuster Will Not Respond

When a workers’ compensation adjuster does not respond, your best course of action is to connect with a skilled workers’ compensation lawyer. You can try other ways of getting a response, such as:

• Calling repeatedly and at different times of the day 
• Calling the company and demanding to speak to the adjuster’s supervisor
• Using certified letters to send required documents. The adjuster will have to sign upon receipt and will not be able to deny you sent the paperwork

As you can probably see, these methods will not make your life easier or reduce your stress. They may not even have much of an effect. The better approach is to put your case in an attorney’s hands. Your attorney knows what to say to get results and will not accept a settlement lower than you deserve.

If negotiations break down or the adjuster refuses to play fair, your attorney will present you with your options. Going to trial may be your best choice, and your workers’ compensation lawyer will represent you at every court proceeding. 

We Will Get a Response and Always Return Your Calls

Getting hurt on the job or suffering from a work-related illness brings tremendous stress to your life. You have the physical pain and discomfort to contend with, have to see doctor after doctor, lose income, and watch your bills stack up. When a workers’ compensation adjuster refuses to respond to your calls, your worry and desperation for financial relief, no matter how little is offered, will ratchet up. 

You do not have to suffer through this frustration and risk accepting a settlement lower than what you deserve. A workers’ compensation from John Foy & Associates is ready to take your call, handle your case, and get you the results you need.