A few years ago, I was in a pretty serious car accident. During the aftermath, I became really familiar with a lot of different types of lawyers. I worked with personal injury lawyers, insurance lawyers, and many others. Perhaps the most important, though, was the estate planning lawyer. I was really young, and neither my wife or I had thought about starting a will. But the accident kind of scared us into it. What would happen if one of us were to die? Even when still in the hospital, I was working with the lawyer to draw up a will. Now, I have some peace and security about what the future will be like if something should happen to me. And I have a lot of experience working with various types of lawyers! The accident was kind of a blessing in disguise in that way.
Workplace injuries often mean time spent recuperating and a loss of salary while doing so. While the hurt worker's employer will usually provide workers' compensation coverage, the disability salary is only a partial one. When you must stay home from work, being aware of time is important.
Read on to find out why keeping an eye on doing things in a timely manner is so important to hurt workers.
Seek Medical Care
As soon as you know you are hurt or suffering from an occupational illness, go to the doctor. In most cases, you are allowed to use the closest and most convenient medical care available. Later on, you may be told to use only certain doctors approved by the workers' comp insurer. For the time being, see your own doctor or go to the emergency room. In some cases, your initial injury started some time ago. Some occupational illnesses and some repetitive strain injuries may have taken time to become apparent. It's important to seek help as soon as you can and to follow that up with a claim form.
File a Workers' Comp Claim
The next step is to let your supervisor know about your injury and to see to it that a claim form is completed and filed with the workers' compensation insurer. You need to have approval from the insurer before you gain the benefits. In most cases, hurt workers can expect to have their medical expenses relating to the injury paid in full. Workers that suffer from some illnesses or that cannot return to work may be allowed to remain at home and be paid a partial salary. After your employer (or you, in some cases) completes the form, check it before you sign it for errors. Problems with a claim form can hold up the start of your benefits. Forms that are incomplete or inaccurate can also lead to denials. You don't want to be suspected of non-work-related injuries or of exaggerating an injury.
Abide By Requests and Deadlines
Once you've filed a claim, be sure to pay close attention to correspondence and deadlines from the insurer. They may, for example, ask for more information about a workplace accident. Also, if your claim is denied, you are entitled to an appeal process, and all of these meetings have deadlines for letting the insurer know about your intentions. The best way to ensure that everything goes smoothly with your claim is to seek legal help at the first sign of problems. Denials, having a permanent injury, and being told to return to work too soon are just a few problems that can plague hurt workers. Seek help and gain what you deserve today.
To learn more about workers' compensation claims, talk to a workers' compensation law attorney.
Share17 March 2020
