Arizona Workers’ Compensation Flowchart
Posted in Workers Compensation on February 29, 2016
The Arizona Workers’ Compensation Hearing Process Explained
1) Receive Notice of Hearing from the Judge’s Office
- Usually sent about 3 weeks after a Request for Hearing is filed
- Gives the date and location of the Hearing
- Hearing usually set out about 4 months
2) Receive written Interrogatories (questions) from opposing counsel
Depending upon the attorney hired by the Worker’s Comp. Insurance company, these usually are sent about 2 weeks after the Notice of Hearing is received.
3) Answer Interrogatories
These represent your sworn answers and must be sent to opposing counsel within 10 days
4) Receive Notice of Deposition from opposing counsel
Depositions are usually set out about a month in the future so opposing counsel can obtain all the records needed
5) Attend Deposition at opposing counsel’s offices
This is the injured worker’s sworn statement taken down by a court reporter. It takes about an hour located at opposing counsel’s office.
6) Receive Notice of Independent Medical Exam arranged by opposing counsel
The “IME” is arranged with a doctor of the insurance company’s choosing. The IME doctor is not treating the injured worker
7) Attend Independent Medical Exam
Must attend or case could be thrown out of court
8) Request subpoenas for medical and lay witnesses; submit records into evidence with the Judge
Must be done in writing and each request has a different time requirement
9) Attend and testify at initial hearing before Judge
While it is called a hearing it is akin to a trial and is when the injured worker will testify on the witness stand
10) Receive notice of further Hearings for medical and lay witnesses (can be 4 or 5 further hearings)
Each witness will have a further hearing, each lasting around 1 hour and can be set out 4 to 6 months
11) After all testimony given, Judge has up to 70 days to make a written decision.