Getting Your Workers' Comp Claim Off To A Good Start
While getting injured at work is no picnic, it should be some comfort to know that you are very likely covered by your employer's worker's compensation insurance. This coverage, provided at no cost to you, will help pay some of your wages while you rest at home and pay all of your medical expenses related to the work injury. There are several tasks that must be put in motion to ensure that you are eligible for these valuable benefits, so read on to learn what steps you can take to make sure that you get the compensation that you are entitled to receive for your injuries.
1. Seek medical treatment. Your number one priority should be to get to a hospital or doctor as soon as possible, not only for the obvious health reasons, but to begin a formal documentation of your work-related injury. Make sure that the treating medical facility knows that your accident or illness is work-related. The entire exam, insurance coverage, billing and medical codes are different for workplace injuries, so make no mistakes when it comes to this detail.
2. Alert your supervisor. Since worker's comp is a state-run program, the exact details can differ slightly, but normally you can let your supervisor know in one of a number of ways. Once you realize that you have been injured at work or are suffering from a work-related illness, you should alert your supervisor by phone, by email, in person or in writing. Let the supervisor know as much as possible about the injury and make sure that they understand that it either happened at work or was work-related in some manner. For example, an injury that occurred while out of town on company business would be covered by worker's comp just as if it had happened at your office.
3. Ensure an accident report is filed. Many accident reports have sections for both you and your supervisor to complete, but some must be completed by your supervisor alone with information that you provide about the accident. Be as thorough as possible and exact with details, such as dates, times, any witnesses, etc. This form will be going to the worker's comp insurance agency that your employer uses and any mistakes or discrepancies could hold up your claim.
Worker's Comp Benefits
If your claim is approved, you may be eligible for the following:
- All of your injury or illness related medical expenses, including doctors, hospitals, lab tests, physical therapy, medications and more.
- A portion of your wages, which normally is calculated at about 70% of your salary, is paid to you weekly.
- Vocational training if your injury makes it impossible to return to your previous job.
- A lump sum settlement if your injury is deemed permanent.
Be sure to seek professional legal help at the first sign that the worker's comp claim is not getting the attention it deserves. Contact a worker's comp attorney or visit a site like http://www.noblelegalservices.com as soon as possible and help ensure that you are compensated for your injuries.