What To Do If You’ve Been Injured At Work
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
If you or someone you know has been injured at work, it’s important to know and protect your legal rights. Whether you were hurt due to an acute traumatic injury (for example, cutting yourself on machinery such as a saw) or a cumulative trauma injury (such as carpal-tunnel syndrome) there are a few basic things that you should do in order to get the compensation you need. Though there may be some rare exceptions to the list of things you should be compensated for due to a workplace injury, following our list will help ensure you don’t lose your right’s under your state’s worker’s compensation law.When It Happens
When you are injured on the job, the first thing you should do is obtain first aid or any other necessary medical treatment as soon as possible. The health care provide will have to be authorized by the Worker’s Compensation Board unless it’s an emergency situation, and your employer should have information available about the authorized providers. The cost of any necessary medical procedures or services is paid by your employer or their insurance carrier as long as the case isn’t disputed, and health care providers may ask you to sign form A-9; this form is essentially meant to provide notice to you as an injured worker that you may be responsible to pay the medical bills if the Worker’s Compensation Board disallows the claim, or if you do not pursue the claim.
Next, you will need to notify your supervisor about the injury and how it happened as soon as possible – generally within 30 days. If you’ve been injured at work and fail to inform your employer within that time frame, you could lose your right to worker’s compensation benefits, and you will be responsible for any medical bills related to the incident.
After you’ve informed your employer, they will have you complete a claim for worker’s compensation (form C-3) and mail it to the nearest Worker’s Compensation Board office. When filling out this form, be sure to only complete the “Employee” section of the form, and make sure you sign and date the claim form as well. You may also want to keep a copy of the form for your records. You can then hand-deliver or mail the claim form to your employer, whichever is quickest and most convenient for you. No matter how you choose, it is important to file quickly, otherwise you could be subject to delays in receiving your benefits.
Once you’ve turned the completed form in to your employer, they will then complete the “Employer” section of the form and mail it to the company’s Worker’s Compensation insurance company, and they should provide you with a copy of the completed claim form. If you do not receive one, you can also request a copy be provided to you. After this has been completed, the insurance company has fourteen days to mail you a status letter regarding your claim.