Insurance Bad Faith Workers Compensation Claims
March 23, 2020
Insurance companies are well-known in the legal industry for using any technicality they can find to deny or lessen the value of an insurance claim, and workers compensation is no different. In fact, workers compensation insurance companies are among the worst when it comes to bad faith claims processing because the employee often has little recourse other than hiring an attorney when an insurance provider stops paying benefits. Even in states like Montana that primarily use the state fund for workers compensation claims, bad faith actions by the insurer can and do occur. That is where the work comp lawyers from Bulman, Jones & Cook step in and evaluate the process.
What Constitutes Bad Faith?
Insurance companies have a set protocol they must follow when evaluating workers comp claims. The problem is, those rules can be skirted and often completely disregarded when the benefit provider thinks they can avoid paying a claim for any seemingly acceptable reason. There are, however, some actions that insurance providers cannot take. They include:
Denying a claim without a valid reason
Purposely stalling benefit payments
Offering a lower settlement than an actual claim value
Multiple cessations of benefits
Failure to investgate
Unnecessary surveillance of claimant
An aggressive and experienced Montana workers compensation lawyer will recognize when bad faith is occurring in a claims process and can file appropriate legal action when a case can be proven.
What Are the Remedies for Bad Faith Claims?
Bad faith legal claims can be filed as a separate legal action aside from a workers compensation claim because the actual negligent actor is the insurance provider. Injured employees are restricted from suing an employer for general pain-and-suffering damages in association with a workers compensation claim, but the insurance provider can be found guilty of bad faith negotiations that could result in an additional claim for financial damages based on frivolous denial of a claim. Insurers are required to negotiate according to standard protocol when claims are filed, and they can be punished legally if they do not comply.
Contact a Montana Personal Injury Attorney
Anyone in Montana who is having difficulties with a workers compensation claim should call the legal professionals at Bulman, Jones & Cook Montana workers compensation lawyer for a full free case evaluation.