Why Employers Refuse to File a Workers’ Comp Claim

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**Video Summary

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Legal experienced lawyer from the Speaks Law Firm explain the rare but problematic scenarios where an employer avoids reporting a workplace injury. This typically occurs when a company ignores a reported incident or attempts to illegally bribe an employee with cash to prevent a formal filing. Such actions are often motivated by an employer’s desire to avoid rising insurance premiums or policy cancellations. The transcript emphasizes that workers have a legal right to benefits if their medical costs exceed $400 or if they miss more than one day of work. If an employee faces resistance or stonewalling, the source recommends contacting human resources directly or seeking legal representation to engage the insurance carrier. Ultimately, the experienced highlight that private settlements cannot replace the official protections provided by worker’s compensation insurance.

Transcription of the Video

Clark Speaks: I’m Clark Speaks, the catastrophic injury lawyer. Welcome to The Verdict. Welcome back to The Verdict. I’m Clark Speaks. I’m here with Brian Grosser. Brian, are there circumstances under which an employer refuses to file a worker’s compensation claim for an injured worker?

Brian Grosser: Yeah, it doesn’t happen a lot, but it does happen. And so I’ll talk about two instances in particular. One where they just don’t do anything; they just kind of ignore it. You report the injury; they say okay, like “fill out this report,” and then they don’t tell you anything. In those circumstances, there’s a trigger for a worker’s compensation claim in the first place. It is if the insurance carrier has paid $400 or more in medical benefits or you’ve missed more than one day of work. That requires them to file what’s called a Form 19 and then to give you a Form 18.

So they file the Form 19 with the Industrial Commission. You can file the Form 18, or you just give it to your attorney and they can file the Form 18. That’s what triggers it. But inherently, what I mentioned is the insurance carrier paying $400 worth of medicals. Well, if the insurance carrier doesn’t know about your claim, they can’t pay 400 bucks. And so this is a situation where the employer just doesn’t do anything. This is where the onus is on you that if you feel like the employer is doing nothing, you need to ask HR, “Hey, who is your workers’ comp carrier? I need treatment… I need something.” Or if you still get stonewalled by HR, give us a call. We will call HR. We will set up something with the insurance carrier because we know who their carriers are. We can figure that out and start the process.

But if you’re being stonewalled by the employer, go through HR and see if you can contact the insurance carrier directly to initiate a claim. And if they still are ignoring you, reach out to us as the attorney. Second fold—and this is an absolute no—but some employers will try to do this. Not many, but some. They cannot pay you off. So they can’t say, “Hey Joe, why don’t I just pay you five grand and we can let this go away?”

Because there’s an incentive sometimes with these employers to not file a claim; it’s going to impact their premiums or maybe they’re going to have to find a new carrier because their coverage can be canceled after the end of their policy. And so they try and just make it go away like, “Hey, here’s $5,000. You can use that to go to Urgent Care and maybe take a couple weeks off of work, and that way just don’t file a claim.” They cannot pay you off to not file a claim. Even if they paid you $5,000, you can still go and file a claim. If they try and pay you off in order to not file a claim, it is your right to file a claim. That’s the reason why they have insurance coverage in the first place. So if you get hurt at work and you feel like they’re ignoring you or they’re trying to buy you off, contact us.

If you’re not getting anywhere with the employer, again, it is beneficial to have that advocate working with you from the outset. This is a rare situation, but if it does happen, it is a good opportunity to have someone on your side from the beginning to help you and initiate your claim.

Clark Speaks: Okay, that’s good information. Thank you, Brian. In the next episode, I want to ask you about what happens if your employer does not have workers’ compensation insurance. Okay, so we’ll see you next time. Thanks for joining us.