Understanding Personal Injury Law

3 Things You Can Do To Help Support A Workers' Comp Claim

19 August 2016

Kristina Walker

Even in a relatively safe work environment, you can become injured. Workers' compensation insurance will often cover the cost of your injury-related expenses, such as the bills for your medical care. However, in order to receive compensation for the accident-related losses, there are some measures that you should take. Here are a few of them:

Don't wait to report your injuries.

It can be tempting to delay reporting an injury, especially if you don't feel that it is serious. However, if the pain or other problems associated with the injury increase over time and you file a workers' compensation claim, it can be difficult to explain why you did not report the injury immediately following the incident. For the insurance representatives, your delay could suggest that the injuries were not related to a workplace event at all.

As soon as you are injured, report it to your supervisor. He or she can advise you of the next steps, such as contacting a certain doctor or medical facility. There may be specific physicians that the company uses to treat workplace injuries. Thus, inquire about a network of approved physicians before you receive medical treatment unless it is a medical emergency, in which case, an ambulance should be called.

Don't delay your medical care.

Just as it is important to report your workplace accident and the associated injuries as soon as the incident occurs, it is also important to seek immediate medical attention. The forfeiting of prompt medical care can be viewed as an admission that your injuries are simply minor. If you even suspect that you have received an injury, it is best to seek medical attention immediately. The medical professional can make a valid diagnosis of your condition and record details of the injuries. This can be important in the long run, because it will serve as proof of the harm that you incurred during the incident.

Collect eyewitness reports.

Your supervisor will likely want to know how the incident occurred. If there are other people present at the time of the accident, it can be helpful to obtain their recollection of the event. Having multiple people validate your claims of what occurred can help ensure that the fault for the accident is not assigned to you.

To learn more things that you should do to help support a workers' compensation case, schedule an appointment with a workers' compensation attorney in your area, such as those found at the Franco Law Firm.

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