Legal Question in Workers Comp in Arizona

workers comp

i was a full time employee working 40 hours a week for over a year when i got injured on the job. after my injury they cut my hours and lowered my pay. plus now my lost wages check was calculated for the lower pay that i get now instead of what i was making at the time of the injury. is that legal? i can't even afford to pay my bills with the lowered wages that they're giving me, but i don't want to quit because i--name removed--afraid they'll try to not pay for my injury if i quit

also, after the doctor told me i needed knee surgery it took 5 months to get approval from the insurance company! i kept leaving messages and not getting calls returned for 5 whole months! should i get a lawyer? i've been considering talking to a lawyer, both for the delay and for the fact that im not getting paid as much as i should be - for lost wages or for work.

what should i do?


Asked on 11/13/07, 4:44 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Stillwell Stillwell Law Office, PLLC

Re: workers comp

Your benefits are based on the Average Monthly Wage, which is supposed to represent what your monthly earning capacity was on the date of injury, not after. It sounds to me like the insurance company is playing games, but the Industrial Commission is responsible for approving the carrier's recommendation, or setting another number. Hopefully, the Industrial Commission has not issued your Average Monthly Wage award, or if it has, it did so less than 90 days ago. YOU GET 90 DAYS TO FILE A REQUEST FOR HEARING AT THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THE AMW AWARD.

An attorney who specializes in workers' compensation probably could be helpful to you with some of these issues. Feel free to give me a call.

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Answered on 11/13/07, 4:52 pm


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