Taking The First Steps Toward Worker’s Compensation

Getting hurt at work is more common than you might think. Though some workplace environments are more conducive to obtaining an injury than others, even an office building can hold hidden dangers. When walking through the door in the morning, no one expects that they might go out on a stretcher or in a wheelchair by the afternoon.

Worker’s Compensation Coverage

Worker’s compensation is paid out by employers at no cost to employees. It’s there to cover employees who become hurt or sick at work as the result of an injury while preforming their job duties. Worker’s compensation will pay out a certain amount of money to the employee based on the injury, and is mainly used to cover the bills that accrue as a result of necessary medical treatment and care. Some of these common necessary treatments may include:

• Doctor visits
• Surgery
• In-home care
• Hospital stays
• Dental care
• Prescriptions
• Braces or crutches
• Medical supplies ordered by your physician

Worker’s compensation coverage might also replace part of your lost wages should the doctor determine that you will need to be out of work for more than 7 days due to your work-related injury or illness.

The First Step

If you should become injured at work, the single most important thing that you can do is to report the incident to the proper department, typically a supervisor or Human Resources department. No matter what happened, how it happened, or what caused the incident, the sooner you file an incident report, the better. In the state of Florida, the worker’s compensation laws require that an incident be reported within 30 days. Failure to report in a timely manner can result in a denial of the claim and worker’s compensation benefits.

The Second Step

The second thing you need to do after a workplace injury is to seek a medical evaluation. No matter how minor you believe your injury to be, let the doctor determine the severity. Your employer will have a list of approved medical professionals through their worker’s compensation insurance carrier; it is important that you see one of these approved doctors in order to ensure proper coverage. Give the doctor a thorough report about any pain, bruises, or illness that occurs, even if you believe it seems insignificant. Continue to follow-up with the doctor about any pain or discomfort that occurs to get appropriate treatment for a full recovery.

The Subsequent Steps

Cooperating with the worker’s compensation insurance carrier is very important to assure that your benefits continue without delay. Remember to:

• Complete and return all forms in a timely manner
• Keep all scheduled appointments
• Report all earnings you receive after your injury
• Seek approval from the insurance carrier before receiving treatment
• Return to work once you are given permission form the doctor to do so
• Hold on to all paperwork and treatment plans for your records

If you do not feel that you can return to work after you have been cleared to do so, it is important that you at least make an attempt to go. If you are physically unable to perform the job once there, you can then make a claim that you cannot continue in the same position.

In A Not-So Perfect World

In a perfect world, employers and worker’s compensation insurance carriers work with you to ensure that you get back to good health and back to the job. Sadly, this doesn’t always go as planned. If you need assistance to ensure that you are getting fair compensation for your injuries, legal representation can walk your through the process. Having a worker’s compensation attorney on your side who knows the laws, and how to get through the system without even more pain and suffering, can make all of the difference in your claim.

No one ever goes to work with the expectation that they will become injured, but it happens to many people daily. Report it, seek medical treatment, and follow the basic requirements to assure a smooth recovery.