Sometimes a work injury claim is denied by the worker’s compensation insurance carrier. The Indiana law indicates that no compensation is allowed for an injury or death due to an employee:
- Knowingly self-inflicting the injury or death
- Being intoxicated at the time of the accident, which is the proximate cause of the injury
- Committing an offense which led to the injury
- Knowingly failing to use safety equipment or apparatus
- Knowingly failing to obey a reasonably written or printed rule of the employer which was posted in an obvious place
- Knowingly failing to perform an official duty of the job which directly led to the injury
However, it is the employer’s responsibility to prove that such behavior on the part of the employee resulted in his or her work injury. If the employer is able to prove such, then the injured worker is barred from any compensation for his or her work injury.
In other cases, an injured worker’s claim may be denied for reasons that are not so clear. Regardless of the circumstances, all injured workers should receive written notification from the employer if their claim is being denied approximately 30 days after the employer is first made aware of the work accident and injury.