Workers’ Compensation Claim Denial: Next Steps
If you have been initially denied workers’ compensation, there are avenues available to appeal the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission’s decision. Here, the workers’ compensation attorneys at Murnane & O’Neill provide information regarding the steps you should take if your workers’ compensation claim has been denied.
Request a Hearing
In Maryland, you should receive documentation from the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission regarding your workers’ compensation claim. If you receive a Notice of Dispute—meaning that your claim has not been accepted—you have the right to request a hearing before the Commission. To request a hearing, you must submit an Issues Form, a form that will allow you to more specifically detail why you feel a hearing is necessary, and why the denial was unwarranted. Mail the issues form to your employer, their insurance company and the Commission, whose address is below:
Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission
10 East Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21202-1641
A hearing will then be scheduled, and a Commissioner will determine whether you should receive workers’ compensation benefits based on your assertions, as well as your employer’s.
Request a Rehearing
If you are dissatisfied with the results of the hearing, you have the right to request a rehearing no more than 15 days from the Commissioner’s decision. As with the hearing, you will need to submit a form, known as a Request for Rehearing, in order to seek a rehearing. Whether you are granted a rehearing is based on the Commissioner’s discretion, and a rehearing is usually only granted if you have recently obtained new, previously unavailable evidence to bolster your workers’ compensation claim, or if the Commissioner has made a legal error.
Appeal to Circuit Court
Whether you are denied a rehearing altogether, or your claim is denied during the rehearing, you may appeal to the Circuit Court nearest to you within 30 days of the rehearing decision. This will require you to submit a Notice of Appeal, which can be found here. Appealing to the Circuit Court also requires a transcript of the Commission Hearing, and it can be advantageous to directly request a transcript from the Commission’s Court Reporter, which takes approximately 60 days to process and send. A written request can be mailed to:
Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission
Attn: Court Reporting Division
10 East Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
The Circuit Court is obliged to agree with the decision of the Commission, unless you can prove that the Commission’s decision was incorrect. A skilled workers’ compensation attorney will be vital in this process. The Circuit Court will decide whether they agree or disagree with the Commission’s decision—if they only disagree with part of the Commission’s decision, the case may be sent back to the Commission for review.
Appealing to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals and Enlisting the Help of a Workers’ Compensation Attorney
If your claim is denied at the Circuit Court level, you have the right to appeal to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals—although this is a complicated process where most individuals will benefit from the experienced consultation and representation of a workers’ compensation attorney. To ensure the greatest likelihood of success, those who have been denied for workers’ compensation should retain the representation of an attorney—such as the dedicated professionals at Murnane & O’Neill—from the very beginning of their hearing and appeals process. Do not let your claim go without speaking to a legal representative at Murnane & O’Neill today!