WorkWorkers' compensation denial
Denied workers' compensation claims in Arizona
Arizona workers' compensation (A.R.S. Title 23, chapter 6) is no-fault: if you were injured in the course of your work, you are generally entitled to medical care and partial wage replacement without proving anyone did anything wrong, through the Industrial Commission of Arizona. A denial from the carrier is an argument, not a verdict. Carriers deny compensable claims over whether the injury is work-related, a gap in treatment, or a pre-existing condition, and some denials do not survive scrutiny. The deadlines are the hard part: generally one year to file the claim under A.R.S. § 23-1061, and 90 days after a denial to request a hearing. If your claim was denied, you may still have a claim, and the 90-day window is the first thing to protect.
What Blueshoe does
The groundwork, in order, before you decide anything.
- 01
Protect the 90 days
The hearing request is calendared from the date on the denial letter and prepared first. Nothing else in the file matters if that window closes.
- 02
Read the denial against the record
Why the carrier says no, what the first medical record says about how the injury happened, and what a treating physician's opinion would need to say to connect the injury to the work.
- 03
Ask the third-party question
Another driver, a defective machine, a subcontractor, a property owner. If anyone other than your employer contributed, you may have a separate injury claim on its own two-year deadline, and Blueshoe maps it alongside the compensation claim.
- 04
An attorney can take the hearing
A licensed Arizona attorney can review the file, request the hearing, gather the medical evidence, and appear before the Industrial Commission, on terms the Commission allows and that are stated in writing first.
What the law says
What the law says about workers' compensation in Arizona
What does workers' compensation cover in Arizona?
Medical treatment for the injury, partial replacement of lost wages while you cannot work, compensation for permanent impairment, and death benefits for dependents, without proof of fault. The trade is that workers' compensation is your only remedy against the employer; you cannot sue it for negligence. Claims run through the Industrial Commission of Arizona under A.R.S. Title 23, chapter 6.
How long do I have to file?
Generally one year from the injury to file a workers' report of injury with the Industrial Commission under A.R.S. § 23-1061, and the injury should be reported to your employer immediately, because late reporting is a common reason claims are disputed. For an occupational disease or an injury that surfaces later, the date the clock starts can itself be contested.
My claim was denied. What now?
You generally have 90 days from the denial to request a hearing before the Industrial Commission, and missing that window usually makes the denial final. The request itself costs nothing to file. What changes outcomes is evidence: a treating physician's opinion connecting the injury to the work, the first medical record, and witnesses.
Keep every letter from the carrier. The denial letter carries the date the 90 days run from, and it states the reason the hearing has to answer.
Can I be fired for filing a workers' compensation claim?
Firing you for filing may be wrongful termination. The Arizona Employment Protection Act (A.R.S. § 23-1501) lists retaliation for exercising rights under the workers' compensation statutes among the grounds for a claim, and that claim generally must be brought within one year of the termination. It runs in court, separate from the compensation claim, and timing is the evidence.
Can I also sue someone other than my employer?
Sometimes. Workers' compensation bars most suits against your employer, but not against anyone else who contributed to the injury: another driver, the maker of a defective machine, a subcontractor, a property owner. That third-party claim recovers what compensation does not, including full lost earnings and pain and suffering, and runs on the two-year deadline in A.R.S. § 12-542.
What it costs
No fee unless you recover.
Asking costs nothing. In Arizona workers' compensation matters, attorney fees are set by the Industrial Commission, so if you engage Blueshoe the fee is a percentage of benefits recovered, as the Industrial Commission allows, stated in a written engagement agreement, and nothing is owed if there is no recovery. Any third-party injury claim runs under its own contingency agreement, with case costs set out in writing, including whether they come out before or after the fee is calculated.
- Free to ask
- Written assessment before any fee
- Engagement terms in writing
- No billable hours
Questions people ask
No. A work injury that aggravates a prior condition can still be compensable, and the question is usually answered by a treating physician's opinion. That opinion is the evidence the hearing is built around.
More under Employment
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- Wrongful terminationArizona is at-will, but the Arizona Employment Protection Act makes some firings unlawful: retaliation, refusing to break the law, breach of contract.Read more
- Unpaid wagesA withheld final paycheck, unpaid commissions, overtime your employer calls exempt.Read more
Legally reviewed by Catherine O’Grady, State Bar of Arizona No. 011647
Managing partner & chief compliance officer · 30+ years in practice · Reviewed 2026-10-08 · Full bio →