From Serious to Entertaining: Blogs on Legal Matters

A workplace injury or disease can wreak significant havoc on your career and personal finances. If you are injured on the job, then you are entitled to workers' compensation. However, there are actions and inactions that can have an effect on the sum of compensation you receive following your workplace injury. As your compensation lawyer will tell you, avoid the following 4 mistakes just after getting injured at your place of work.

Failing to notify your boss or supervisor

According to state law, you should notify your employer or supervisor of your workplace injury or disease as soon as possible. A timely notice allows your employer enough time to inform the workers' compensation insurance company about the impending claim. If you don't notify your employer of your illness or injury immediately, they can use this excuse as a legal defense against your compensation claim.

Not seeking medical treatment

If you suffer injury at work, you should seek out treatment from a reputed hospital as soon as possible. Any delays in seeking treatment can make it quite difficult for you to prove your wounds are work-related. In that regard, do yourself a favour and see a doctor immediately after your workplace injury.

Not adhering to your doctor's prescriptions

The failure to adhere to the treatment orders may be as detrimental to your claim for compensation as if you had not even sought medical treatment in the beginning. Not adhering to your doctor's prescriptions is deemed to mean either your wounds are not severe as you purport them to or you exacerbated the extent of injury due to not following practical treatment directions. As a result, your workers' compensation benefits may be adversely impacted.

Not providing timely responses to genuine requests from the insurance guys

The insurance company responsible for your workers' compensation is entitled to ask certain details from you concerning the events surrounding the workplace accident. Additionally, the insurance company may also ask that you agree to a medical assessment by a medical practitioner of its own preference to substantiate the conditions for which you're pursuing compensation. Not providing timely responses to these genuine requests can lead to denial of your benefits or even protracted delays. If you're not sure whether a specific request from the insurance guys is genuine, speak with your compensation lawyer first before answering any questions. This will help you avoid falling into any traps set out by the insurer which may affect your claim.