If you’re injured at work, your immediate concern should be your health. Forget about everything else for the time being and focus on the steps you can take to stabilize your injury.
As time and your health allow, you can then turn your attention to the details of your accident, your legal rights, and the steps you can take to protect them.
Here are some things you can do after a workplace accident to protect your legal rights:
- Obtain medical: Depending on the severity of the injury, you may assume you can treat yourself at home and immediately return to work. However, this is a mistake, as you could underestimate the severity of the injury. It’s better to be safe than sorry by letting a qualified medical professional examine you for injuries and provide a path forward.
- Report the incident: With so much happening, you could forget to report the incident and your injuries to your employer. Don’t let too much time pass before doing so. You simply want to make it clear to your employer that you were injured on the job. If you hide the incident from them, they could argue that you weren’t injured at work, so you shouldn’t receive workers’ compensation benefits.
- File a claim as soon as you can: Don’t ponder what the future could bring. Once you know that you can’t return to work, file a workers’ compensation claim and move through the process accordingly.
- Keep a close eye on the process: Don’t assume that you’ll immediately begin to receive workers’ compensation benefits. A lot can go wrong along the way, such as your employer arguing that you weren’t injured at work. This can result in a denial, thus forcing you to learn more about the appeals process.
When you take these steps after a workplace accident, you’ll feel better about your ability to protect your legal rights. And when you do that, it’s one less thing for you to worry about.
The workers’ compensation system is in place for a reason. Take full advantage of the benefits available to you should it be necessary.