Interest on Unpaid Claims

You have four years to bring a workers' compensation claim for benefits, starting from the date you first become aware of the causal relationship between a disability and your job. Although you have this period of time to bring a claim, for most people it makes more sense to make the claim as soon as possible. If you are disabled, you will need to supplement your income and obtain reimbursement for medical care right away. However, workers' compensation payments are not always made as promptly as they should be. If you are concerned about timely workers' compensation payments and interest on unpaid claims, the Boston workers' compensation lawyers at Pulgini & Norton can advise and represent you.

If you are not able to earn wages for five or more partial or full days because of a workplace injury, your employer is supposed to report the injury to its insurer within seven days from the fifth date of loss. The insurer has 14 days from receiving notice to mail you a check or send you a form specifying why it is denying the claim.

If you are not getting the workers' compensation benefits to which you may be entitled, you should complete an employee claim, Form 110. For example, if the insurer contests your right to receive benefits, or it has stopped or reduced your benefits and you do not think its reasons are fair, you can bring a claim to be resolved at the Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA). The claim will proceed through several steps before being resolved with an order. Even after an initial order, either party can appeal.

Under M.G.L. ch. 152 Section 50, if workers' compensation payments are not made within 60 days of being claimed by an employee or an employee's dependent or spouse, and an order requires payment, the claim will accrue interest. The rate is 10% per year of all amounts due from the date the notice of the claim is received by the department to the date the payment is made. If the sum includes weekly payments, the interest is calculated for each unpaid weekly payment.

You should be aware that the date the claim resulting in an order is filed is the date that the department receives notice for the purpose of Section 50. If an insurer is joined to an earlier claim that goes unresolved, for example, the interest will not be found owing from that earlier date. This is one reason it is crucial to have an attorney from the outset. While an attorney can help later in the process, it is important to do things right the first time so that you can collect your benefits in full as soon as possible, and if there proves to be a need to collect interest, you want the interest to start accruing right away.

At Pulgini & Norton, our Boston workers' compensation attorneys understand how interest on unpaid claims works and can help make sure you seek the full amount to which you may be entitled. Our workplace accident lawyers also advise and represent people in Weymouth, Waltham, Brookline, and other cities in Massachusetts. Call us at 781-843-2200 or contact us via our online form to set up a free consultation.