In Arizona, an injured worker can request a hearing before an administrative law judge if the insurance company has denied your case or workers’ compensation benefits.
How do I request a hearing before an administrative law judge?
An injured worker must request a hearing with the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA).
The injured worker must complete the Request for Hearing with the claim information. Alternatively, an injured worker may submit a letter with the claim information that requests a hearing. The request for hearing form or the letter must be submitted with the ICA. An injured worker must submit the form electronically on the Industrial Commission’s Website, mail or fax.
Once submitted, the ICA will issue a Notice of Hearing. The staff and attorneys at the Law Offices of Robert Wisniewski can assist you in requesting a hearing before a judge.
I have a hearing date, so what do I do now?
The ICA will issue a Notice of Hearing that will state the date, time and location of the initial hearing for the injured worker. The ICA assigns cases to an administrative law judge.
An injured worker must appear, in person, to the initial hearing. If the injured worker requires an interpreter, the worker must request an interpreter with the ICA beforehand. The ICA will provide an interpreter at no cost to the injured worker.
Once a hearing a set, the rules of procedure will outline the deadlines for submitting evidence and requesting witness testimony, including physician testimony. An injured worker who is unfamiliar with the rules and the workers’ compensation process can find themselves overwhelmed. The certified specialists at the Law Offices of Robert Wisniewski can assist injured workers to navigate the workers’ compensation hearing procedure.
What will happen during my hearing?
Unrepresented injured workers must appear at their initial hearing. If the injured worker doesn’t attend the hearing, then the insurance company can ask the judge to dismiss the request for hearing.
At hearings involving unrepresented workers, the administrative law judge will question the injured worker about their injury. Once the judge completes their questioning, the attorney for the insurance company will then ask the injured worker questions. Once this is complete, the injured worker has the right to ask questions of their witnesses, if any are present.
If an unrepresented worker arrives at the initial hearing and decides they would like to have an attorney, they may express their desire to judge. The judge will then reset the hearing to allow the unrepresented worker to obtain counsel.
How can an attorney help during this hearing process?
The Certified Specialists at the Law Offices of Robert Wisniewski help injured workers navigate the complex workers’ compensation hearing process. Our Certified Specialists will review your file thoroughly, subpoena witnesses, submit the appropriate evidence, prepare you for the hearing before the administrative law judge, prepare you for questions from the insurance company attorney, and ask questions of your witnesses and of your medical expert.
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