In a Workers’ Comp matter a claimant must attend all hearings unless given judicial permission not to appear. Failure to appear is cause for penalties or sanctions to be doled out or dismissal. An attorney will handle all deadlines in a timely manner provided they are retained early enough and receive the full cooperation of the claimant.

Once all hearings are completed, the ALJ should issue an award within 30 days. This may be subject to an review, but must be requested within 30 days after the ruling. The same ALJ will then review the evidence in the file and any legal arguments made with the Request for Review or the response to that request and issue a Decision on Review about 30 to 60 days thereafter. The decision on review may affirm the original Award, modify, or reverse the Award. Any dissatisfied party may then appeal to the Court of Appeals of Arizona, or even to the Supreme Court of Arizona.