St. Louis Work Accident Lawyer – Medical Testimony Affects Your Claim

Insurance companies often find medical experts to contradict your physician.

It would be nice to think that an employee can rely on workers’ compensation insurance to pay for their medical expenses in the same way that the employer knows it keeps them immune from lawsuits. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The big business that is insurance is reluctant to pay claims and will often use any means necessary to avoid them. One common way is to find a medical expert who will contradict what your physician is telling you. If you are having trouble getting your claim honored by your employer due to a discrepancy in medical opinions, contact a St. Louis work accident lawyer. They are used to dealing with these types of tactics and can help you receive your deserved compensation.

Seeking Medical Attention After a Work Injury

Your employer retains the right to direct you to a physician of their choice when you are injured at work. This physician is usually hand-picked by the insurance company and has a long standing relationship with them. Even though he won’t stray from his duty to treat you, he can word his findings in such a way that your compensation could be cut prematurely. If you are denied benefits, you will need to fight the employer through the Missouri Labor Commission. This is much like a court case. It would be very beneficial to have an experienced attorney by your side throughout this process.

Contradicted Testimony

At the hearing, evidence will be presented by both sides to support their cases. Medical testimony is usually the focus, and your attorney will see to it that your expert testimony is in your favor and indisputable by the employer. One of the issues at hand could be whether the injury is work related or not. Since many common work related injuries could also be sustained outside of the work place, this is a common strategy for the defense.

Take the case of a Missouri worker who suffered a spine and neck injury in an accident at work. Doctors for the defense argued that the injury was not related to the accident and could in fact have been sustained anywhere. Five different expert opinions were given and a lot of information was passed to the review board who in the end decided that the plaintiff’s experts’ testimony was more compelling in proving causation of the injury then that of the defense. The employer was ordered to pay for the medical care that had been received in addition to a weekly payment for the temporary disability sustained. On top of that, the judge ordered that additional surgery to correct the injury be paid by the employers insurance.

St. Louis Workers Compensation Attorney

It is bad enough that you are in pain and suffering from an injury from work, but to have your claim denied over such trivial issues only adds insult to injury. The insurance company is well aware of what they are responsible to pay for, but will try any means to avoid it. If you are currently fighting to have your claim recognized by your employer, seek the help of an experienced work comp attorney at The Law Office of James M. Hoffmann. We will fight to get you the compensation you deserve.

Call (314) 361-4300 to schedule a free and private consultation.

Influencing Factors & Denied Claims

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