Legal Question in Workers Comp in Arizona

I am a disabled widow and have been receiving Death Benefit payments from my late husband's employer's worker's comp program since he was killed on the job in Arizona in 1988. I was originally from Alaska and moved back in 1998. Recently a friend that moved with me and I joined Facebook and found a lot of our old friends. As a joke we posted we were married. On August 14th I received a letter from my carrier that my benefits had been terminated due to the fact that I was married and enclosed pictures of our Facebook profiles indicating that was the basis for their decision. I was given 90 days to apply for a hearing through the ICA and did so the next day stating that I was not married and if they would check the records they would find that there had never been another marriage license issued to me in Arizona or any other state. In reply they sent me a 6 page list of statutes and a hearing date of November 5th in Arizona. I cannot travel nor afford it, I can't afford a lawyer (who can only be from AZ). I can only sit for short periods of time and can't seem to find a statute that applies to get the hearing arranged another way. I would also like to know if I have grounds for a suit against the company and the ICA for not checking further into this before terminating my benefits. I am severly disabled and the loss of the income has put me in terrible financial stress to the point of having utitilities getting turned off and being unable to make my house payment. Thank you for any help you can give me.


Asked on 9/22/10, 6:26 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Stillwell Stillwell Law Office, PLLC

Hire a Certified Specialist (like yours truly) to handle this matter. Even if you have to pay a couple of thousand dollars on an hourly basis, think about what it will save you.

I do not believe you have a right to avoid the hearing, and I hear nothing that suggests you have a basis for a suit. We can talk more about this in the initial consultation.

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Answered on 9/27/10, 6:32 pm


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