As employed citizens, most of us understand the basics of workers’ compensation. Simply put, as an employee, if you get hurt on the job, you’re compensated for work you miss over and above any statutory waiting period, and your medical bills will be covered. While the fundamentals are easy to understand, there’s a bit more to workers’ compensation that you as an employee need to understand.
In the aftermath of an on-the-job accident, you may find it impossible to get up and go back to work on your own strength. Moreover, you may find it impossible to piece your case together to claim workers’ compensation and end up losing out on benefits you may be entitled to. While no one wants to get injured on the job, if you find yourself facing an employment-related injury, Phillips and McCrea, PLLC has listed five things that you must know about dealing with a work injury.
1. Inform the supervisor or manager right away.
Do not delay in reporting your injury and document the notice. If you are injured on the job, and you fail to inform your employer, in writing, you may lose the right to pursue a worker’s compensation claim. If your injury is the result of an occupational disease, you should notify the employer when you know or should have known that the condition was a work-related disease. North Carolina provides that written notice of injury be provided on Form 18. This form includes the date of the injury and a short description of the injury.
2. Seek medical treatment and a diagnosis of the injured body part.
By seeking medical treatment or first aid as soon as possible, you increase the chances of limiting the damage or injury. You want to make sure your doctor records this information in your medical notes from the first visit. In many instances, employers and workers’ compensation insurance companies try to deny claims if the notes taken and recorded by the doctor or nurse does not include a notation that the injury is a work injury.
3. Do what the doctor tells you.
Follow the doctor’s instructions regarding care of the injury and your limitations as a result of the injury. It is essential to give your injured body part an opportunity to heal and repair itself.
4. Gather all documentation related to the accident.
Gathering all documentation related to the accident is critical. It is also essential to collect all of the documentation related to your accident and any follow-up care, including medical records and records of treatment. Keep a journal of the accident and what caused it and also document if there were witnesses to your accident, it might prove to be extremely helpful to gather their accounts of what happened. They may be called to give testimony of the accident from their perspective, and that could be beneficial to you.
5. Contact a workers’ compensation law firm right away.
There are a lot of moving and intricate pieces to a workers’ compensation case, and it can be daunting to attempt to deal with alone. For instance, documenting the injury, getting necessary medical treatment, filing paperwork and following procedures which may very well involve insurance companies and insurance company defense lawyers and trained adjusters and that can make for a difficult time, especially when you are injured and may not understand your rights. Please be mindful that stringent time limits are in place concerning workplace injuries and if you delay, you can forfeit your right to the compensation that you may be entitled to.
In the unfortunate event of being injured at work, or if you know someone who met with an accident while on the job, reach out to Phillips and McCrea, PLLC. We are a dynamic injury practice law firm in Charlotte, NC, and dedicated to zealously representing our clients. Our firm is committed to treating our clients with the utmost respect and providing them with the highest quality legal service by pledging diligence, excellence, and integrity in all matters that we handle. To learn more about how we can help you, please click here or get in touch with us here for any legal information you need.