Mistakes Injured Workers Should Avoid Making
An individual that is unfortunate enough to experience a serious workplace accident will be able to utilize worker's compensation benefits in order to allow them to avoid having to pay for their recovery out of their own pocket. Unfortunately, there is a range of mistakes that people will make when it comes to their worker compensation claims, and this can have a serious effect on their claim.
Failing To Notify Management Of The Injury
A common and understandable mistake that people can make will be to fail to report the injury. Often, this will be the result of the individual wanting to avoid being reprimanded for the accident or concerns about missing work. However, reporting the injury is the first step in the worker's compensation claims process, and failing to do this in a prompt way can lead to it being much harder for an attorney to effectively link the injury to the workplace.
Failing To Seek Representation For A Worker's Compensation Claim
Injured workers will often assume that they will have to navigate the worker's compensation process on their own. However, seeking out an attorney to represent you during this claim can be essential for ensuring that you are both aware of your rights in the situation as well as making sure these rights are being protected. This can be especially valuable in situations where the insurance or the employer is attempting to deny the claim.
Failing To Fully Adhere To The Treatment
It will generally be the responsibility of the worker to ensure that they are fully adhering to the recovery guidelines that their doctor is prescribing. Often, individuals will be hesitant about attending physical rehabilitation or other inconvenient procedures. However, this can lead to the claim being revoked or stopped. To avoid this, a patient will want to be sure that they are making every attempt to attend their treatment sessions and that they are avoiding creating a pattern of missing these sessions. For example, if you find that you must miss a treatment session, rescheduling it for as soon as possible should be a priority.
Workplace injuries can leave workers with the prospects of needing to pay mounting medical bills while also being out of work. Worker's compensation can provide protection in these situations as an injured worker will be able to use this coverage in order to pay for the treatments that they need and to provide partial wage replacement for the work that is missed. Yet, mistakes can compromise a worker's ability to fully utilize this protection when they are faced with a serious workplace injury.
For more information on mistakes to avoid, reach out to a local worker's compensation attorney.