Getting injured on the job can cost you serious pain, medical bills, time lost from work — not to mention a loss of quality of life. How you handle the aftermath of your injury when it comes to pursuing workers compensation is vital.
Below are five tips to help your workers’ comp case go as smoothly as possible.
- Report your injury as soon as possible to your employer. Technically, an employee has up to 90 days to report an injury. However, reporting it immediately creates credibility on the part of the employee and will help alleviate speculation that a person may not be telling the truth.
- Failing to seek timely medical treatment. It’s important to immediately seek medical attention for your injury. This is necessary not only for your health, but also because the insurance company could use any delay against you. For instance, they might say you aren’t as injured as you claim or that you aren’t caring for your injury as you should.
- Failing to accurately describing your accident and injuries to your doctor. This isn’t the time to downplay your injury or act tough. Explain in full detail to your doctor exactly what happened and how you were hurt. Spare no details. Leaving out details can affect your case in a negative way.
- Don’t lie about your injuries. As your mom might have taught you, honestly is always the best policy. Lying in a workers’ comp case will generally come back to bite you and harm your case. Be 100% truthful about the extent of your injuries and how you’re feeling.
- Don’t blindly accept what the insurance company says without doing your own research about your rights as an employee. Become the educated employee. Know your rights and don’t just settle for what the insurance company tells you.
If you’re injured on the job, follow these tips and speak with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney to help you get through this difficult time and process.