3 Steps To Take Right Away To Ensure Your Worker's Compensation Claim Gets Paid

25 January 2017
 Categories: Law, Blog

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If you were injured at work, there are specific steps that you can take that will help ensure that your workers' compensation claim is successfully processed and that your medical bills and lost wages are covered.

#1 Report It Right Away

Even if it doesn't seem like you are that seriously hurt at the moment, you should always report when you are injured right away. If you get injured at all on the job, make sure that you file out a work injury report with your supervisor and keep a copy for yourself. This is the best way to ensure that you are able to get worker's compensation should your injury end up being serious and require additional medical attention and time off work. As long as you notify your employer in writing, not verbally, that you were injured, you will have fulfilled the requirement in most states to inform your employer about your injuries which will allow you to proceed with a worker's compensation claim at a later date.

#2 Explain How You Got Hurt

You also need to make sure that you don't just state that you got hurt, you need to explain how you got hurt. This will help establish that the injury really was work related. When you go and get medical assistance, make sure that you explain how you got injured as well. Try to keep your story simple and to the fact. It is important that when you tell the story, you are able to remember everything that you wrote and shared with the employer and that you keep your story consistent. Changing your story over time could harm your chances of getting workers compensation.

#2 Get Witness Names & Statements

Second, when you make your written injury report to your supervisor, make sure that you include the name of any and all witnesses to the accident. That may include fellow employees, vendors, and customers who saw what happened. If any of the witnesses are not people whom you have contact information for, try to obtain contain information for them.

If possible, try to have any witnesses to the accident write a short statement about what they saw and heard. Ask any employees that you work with if they can write a short statement about what happened before they clock out for the day and share a copy of the statement with you and your supervisor. Ask any vendors or customers if they can fill out a witness statement before they leave. This could provide useful information for your workers' compensation attorney