Injured at Work? What NOT to Do

13 July 2018
 Categories: Law, Blog

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Sometimes, a working environment can be a dangerous place to be. As an employee, you fully understand these risks and accept the situation, but you need to work there to earn a living, after all. Hopefully, you won't become a statistic and pick up an injury of any kind, but if you do, you may come across plenty of advice telling you what to do next. However, it's equally as important to know what not to do in this situation, especially as the pressure will be on. What should you bear in mind?

Don't Assume

The first and most important piece of advice is not to forget any details. Many people are not detail-oriented to begin with and may rely on their memory in most cases. However, in this traumatic situation you may not want to rely on memory power and should write everything down in full detail as soon as you can. Commit even the tiniest of details to paper even though they may not seem to be relevant, as all of it could be called into question in the future. Fundamentally, never rely on your family doctor to fill in any blanks, as they have many other patients to worry about.

Don't Rush

Next, don't fall into the trap of signing "on the dotted line" to try and relieve your pain. You may be given that opportunity by an investigator or an insurance representative but should never sign anything until you've had legal counsel.

Don't Settle

Some people hate this entire process and can't wait for it to be over. Consequently, if they get declined at the first hurdle they may give up and accept their fate. It's not unusual for compensation to be turned down early in the process, but this is definitely not the time for you to take "no" for an answer. Some people will turn to a conciliation service at this juncture, while others will engage legal counsel independently to help them.

Don't Worry

Furthermore, you should not be afraid to pursue any claim, simply because it might put you on the bad side of your employer. You may think that it will affect your career path, or you may be overlooked when it comes to overtime opportunities. Employers understand their obligations here and know that you need to lodge a claim. They will, in turn, rely on insurance companies to cover the situation and in any case, they're not permitted to discriminate in these situations.

Get Going

Finally, the last thing that you should do is procrastinate. You need to get compensation for your injuries and expenditure as soon as possible, so you need to start the ball rolling today. For extra support, contact services such as Hoffmans Injury Lawyers.