Key Takeaways:
Employers, managed care organizations, and the Bureau of Workers' Compensation may move slowly by design, and some delays are used to pressure injured workers into giving up or accepting less. Recognizing common stall tactics—such as excessive documentation requests, repeated independent medical exams, and slow-walked C-9 treatment authorizations—is the first step toward pushing back. Workers’ compensation attorney Jim Monast has spent more than four decades learning how these delays hurt injured workers and how to fight them effectively.
You filed your claim. You followed your doctor's orders. You submitted every form that was asked of you. And yet, weeks have passed with no movement on your benefits, no approval for the treatment your physician requested, and increased demands for still more documentation. If this sounds familiar, you may be on the receiving end of a workers' comp delay tactic—and the longer the delay goes unanswered, the more damage it can do to your claim and your financial stability.
Our state’s workers' compensation system is one of the largest in the country, administered through the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) and a network of managed care organizations (MCO) that coordinate medical treatment for injured workers. The structure creates multiple points at which a claim can be slowed, questioned, or quietly pushed to the back of the queue.
At Monast Law Office, we help all types of workers throughout the state cut through that process. Understanding the system’s pressure points helps you be more prepared to protect your claim.
Table of Contents
What Are the Top 6 Workers' Comp Delay Tactics?
Benefit delays rarely look like outright refusals. More often, circumstances seem reasonable on the surface but are designed to exhaust your patience, create paperwork gaps, or give the employer ammunition to dispute your claim down the road.
1. Excessive and Repetitive Documentation Requests
These include documentation that’s already been submitted, asking for records that have little relevance to the claim, or sending incomplete forms that require multiple rounds of correction before they can be processed. The MCO or employer representative may also ask for medical records, incident reports, or employment history multiple times—not because the information is missing, but because each new request resets the clock.
If you’re providing the same information repeatedly with no claim progress, document every submission carefully. Keep copies of everything you send, note the dates, and save any written communications confirming receipt.
2. Slow-Walked C-9 Treatment Authorizations
When your physician determines you need additional treatment—such as a specialist referral, physical therapy, surgery, or a diagnostic test—they submit a C-9 form to your employer's MCO for approval. The MCO holds considerable authority over treatment decisions, and denials or slow approvals at this stage can interrupt care for weeks or months at a time. Common reasons C-9 approvals stall include, but aren’t limited to:
- Incomplete forms
- Missing documentation of how the requested treatment connects to the original workplace injury
- Disputes over whether the condition is actually work-related
Under Ohio rules, you have the right to appeal a C-9 denial, but that process takes time, and the clock continues to run while you wait.
3. Repeated Independent Medical Examinations (IME)
Ohio's workers' comp system uses IMEs to evaluate an injured worker's condition, impairment level, and ability to return to work. The BWC generally schedules one after someone has received 90 consecutive days of temporary total disability (TT) benefits, and it may schedule additional examinations while benefits continue. After 200 weeks of temporary total disability, the BWC may schedule an examination to determine whether the disability has become permanent.
Employer-requested IMEs should be approached carefully, because if the physician isn’t your doctor or record, the resulting report may be used to challenge ongoing benefits, treatment, or disability status. If you believe an IME report doesn’t accurately reflect your condition, you have the right to dispute it and obtain a second opinion.
4. Causation Disputes
Even when your injury is clearly work-related, employers and MCOs sometimes argue that the condition was preexisting, caused by something outside of work, or not serious enough to warrant the benefits requested. These disputes often surface after reviewing your prior medical history, which is why knowing what your employer can access through your medical records is important from day one.
A causation dispute that goes unaddressed might result in a denied or reduced claim. Challenging it effectively usually requires detailed medical documentation, a clear narrative from your treating physician, and in some cases, a hearing before the Ohio Industrial Commission.
5. Surveillance
Employers and their insurers sometimes arrange covert surveillance of injured workers to gather footage that can be used to dispute the nature or severity of an injury. Surveillance may take place outside your home, at medical appointments, or in public spaces. Under Ohio law, such observation is generally permitted.
The best protection against surveillance is straightforward: follow your doctor's treatment plan and don't engage in activities that exceed the documented restrictions. Anything you do in public can be recorded and presented in your claim proceeding.
6. Missed Deadlines and Administrative Delays
The Ohio workers' comp system operates on strict timelines. The BWC has 28 days to approve or deny a new claim. If your claim is denied and you wish to appeal, this process moves through district, staff, and commission levels—each with its own deadlines for filing and responding. Missing a deadline, even by a single day, often forfeits your right to pursue benefits at that level.
Administrative delays on the employer or MCO side can sometimes push you past key deadlines unless you keep careful records.
What Should You Do When Workers' Comp Delays Keep Piling Up?
Unfortunately, the system is rarely going to correct itself—and the longer the delay goes unchallenged, the harder it typically becomes to recover lost ground. The good news is that with a clear paper trail, it’s much harder for an employer or MCO to claim you didn't provide information or that delays were your fault. Jim recommends:
- Follow your doctor's treatment plan consistently and keep every appointment.
- Track all deadlines and confirm receipt of submissions.
- Avoid common claim mistakes, including speaking to the employer's third party administrator without legal guidance.
- Don't accept a settlement under financial pressure before understanding whether the offer is truly fair.
Ohio workers’ compensation lawyer Jim Monast has spent more than 40 years learning the employer and MCO playbook, and uses this knowledge to keep claims moving forward. If yours has stalled, it’s not over—he’ll help you find out why and get your benefits back on track.
