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Seatback Failures
Front occupant seatbacks play a vital safety role in rear-end crashes, similar to the purpose of airbags and seatbelts in frontal impacts. In a rear impact, a front seat should be designed to absorb energy and contain the occupant in the front seating space. Weak, defective front seats can fail, collapse and cause front occupants […]
Businesses Trying to Outlaw Workers’ Compensation Bad Faith Cases
There is trouble brewing in Arizona for anyone injured on the job and who will be filing a workers’ compensation claim. You may lose your right to hold your workers’ compensation insurer accountable for unfair treatment.
Consumer rights attorneys, the insurance industry, and special business interest groups are currently locked in a heated battle in the Arizona Legislature over the insurance industry’s attempt to outlaw workers’ compensation bad faith lawsuits.
According to the bill, HB 2455 (which only applies to private-sector employees), the workers’ compensation laws would be changed to where mistreated workers would no longer be allowed to sue insurance companies that act in bad faith in civil court, but rather, all cases would have to be presented to the Arizona Industrial Commission instead.
Businesses and insurance companies are pushing very hard for this to pass to avoid accoutability for citizens suffering life-altering trauma due to the bad faith conduct of workers’ compensation insurers. If it does pass, mistreated Arizona workers will be left with no recourse and insurance companies will suffer small fines for egregious, unfair conduct. In other words, it will encourage bad faith conduct similar to what currently exists under ERISA.
According to Garrick Taylor, Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry vice president, “we strongly support (the bill). We believe bad-faith claims in workers’ compensation cases are best handled at the Industrial Commission, not in trial courts.”
Attorneys and citizens’ rights groups disagree almost unanimously, saying that these laws will prevent those with legitimate claims and serious health issues from suing workers’ compensation insurance companies for denial of benefits, which will make the situation worse for any injured worker with a serious claim and an unfair workers compensation insurer.
It is unknown whether this bill will pass, but anyone with an interest in the field of workers’ compensation ought to keep an ear to the ground. This has the potential to change a major portion of Arizona workers’ rights laws and to affect every Arizona worker.
Workers Compensation Bad Faith Issues Resolved By AZ Insurance Bad Faith Lawyer
In this article, our Arizona insurance bad faith lawyer will dispel a few common misunderstandings associated with Arizona’s workers’ compensation laws as they pertain to insurance bad faith. Most importantly, you need to understand that the Arizona Workers’ Compensation Act was supposed to create a no-fault compensation system. Any covered employee under the act who is injured or killed in an employment-related activity has a right to compensation under Arizona law.
That employee (or if killed in a work accident, then his or her dependents) “shall be entitled to receive and shall be paid such compensation for loss sustained on account of the injury or death, such medical, nurse and hospital services and medicines, and such amount of funeral expenses in the event of death…” A.R.S. § 23-1021.
Does it matter who caused the work-related accident and injury? NO!
A common misconception about workers’ compensation in Arizona is that workers who suffer a work-related injured as a result of their own negligent act or omission will be denied compensation. That is not the law! With no fault workers compensation in Arizona, anytime a covered employee is injured at work, he or she has a right to medical care and compensation without regard to blame or responsibility for the accident and injury. Furthermore, the workers’ compensation insurance company cannot offer less compensation because that worker was at fault, either wholly or partially, for the work injury.
Can you be fired for filing a legitimate workers’ compensation claim? NO!
Many employees are led to believe that, should they dare file a workers’ compensation insurance claim following their workplace injury, they can be fired. A worker could be wrongly accused of being a troublemaker, of not being a team player, of costing the company too much money, of reporting the injury too late, of filing a fraudulent claim, and so on. Some insurers will pull out all the stops in their efforts to persuade employees that they should never file a workers’ compensation insurance claim for job-related injuries. If you need assistance with the underlying workers’ compensation claim, please do not hesitate to call an Arizona insurance bad faith lawyer who can refer you to an experienced, specialized workers’ compensation attorney.
Can the insurer reject your claim without conducting an investigation? NO!
Some insurers have developed bad reputations for failing to conduct investigations and failing to fairly evaluate employees’ workers’ compensation claims. Arizona insurance bad faith lawyers assure you that every insurance company, even those involved in the handling of workers’ compensation claims, must conduct a thorough investigation and must fairly evaluate the claim. Just as the insurer is prohibited from practicing intimidation to bully a worker into accepting less compensation than he or she has a right to, the insurer cannot refuse to properly process the claim or attempt to let the case die-on-the vine through inaction and delay.
Our Arizona insurance bad faith lawyers are all too familiar with the extreme lengths that insurance companies will take to avoid paying workers’ compensation benefits. Attorney Shane L. Harward has been challenging insurance companies since 1995. As an experienced Arizona insurance bad faith lawyer, he is committed to helping his clients get what they deserve in compensation from the insurance company. As soon after the injury as possible, we encourage you to email or call us at 480.874.2918 today for a free telephone consultation. Remember – you have a powerful ally in the Law Offices of Shane L. Harward.
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9735 E. Shea Blvd.
Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85259
Telephone 480-874-2918
Facsimile 480-588-5063
The Arizona personal injury, accident, and insurance bad faith dispute lawyers at the Law Offices of Shane L. Harward PLC represent insurance, personal injury and accident victims throughout the state of Arizona (AZ) including, but not limited to, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Glendale, Gilbert, Sun West, Sun City, Tucson, Flagstaff, Kingman, Bullhead City, Yuma, Lake Havasu, Fountain Hills, Anthem, Ahwatukee, Carefree, Cave Creek, Gold Canyon, Bisbee, Sierra Vista, Cochise, Paradise Valley, East Valley, Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, Gila, White Mountain, Heber, Payson, Prescott, Forest Lakes, Apache Junction, Avondale, Queen Creek, Benson, Black Canyon City, New River, Buckeye, Casa Grande, Coolidge, Cottonwood, Douglas, Florence, Gila Bend, Goodyear, Greer, Glendale, Lakeside, Guadalupe, Holbrook, Huachuca City, Oro Valley, Overgaard, Avra Valley, Parker, Peoria, Pinetop, Pine, Prescott Valley, Quartzite, Strawberry, Safford, Show Low, Sun City West, Sun Lakes, Superior, Surprise, Snowflake, Tombstone, Wickenburg, Winslow, Wilcox, Williams, Young, Youngtown, and surrounding areas.