Injured at work? Here’s what to do.
When you are injured at work a lot of things happen at once. It is important to know what to do ahead of time and follow these steps.
There are many responsibilities after you get injured at work. Below are a few which you should immediately consider. It is always recommended that you seek the advice of a workers compensation lawyer to understand you full rights and responsibilities.
REPORT YOUR INJURY TO YOUR EMPLOYER
If you have just been injured you must report your injury or illness to your employer, and you must do so within 120 days of the injury or illness occurring. If you just learned that your injury or illness is related to your work activity then you must report the injury or illness within 120 days of your discovery that the injury or illness is related to your work activity. Failure to report your injury within 120 days will preclude your ability to recover benefits.
SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT FROM YOUR EMPLOYER’S LIST OF PANEL PHYSICIANS
After you report your injury to your employer, you should be provided with a list or directed to a posted list of panel physicians with which you must seek treatment for the first 90 days of your injury. The list of panel physicians must contain several different physicians or physician practice groups with different specialties. Assuming you were provided with a proper panel list (ask a lawyer), you must treat with a doctor on that list for the first 90 days of your injury. After 90 days, if your claim is accepted, you can treat with a doctor of your choosing and the carrier must pay for the treatment. If you do not treat with a panel list doctor within the first 90 days of your injury, that medical treatment may not be covered by the workers’ compensation insurance company.
KNOW YOUR CLAIM STATUS
Your employer should report your injury to the insurance company and file the first report of injury with the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Within 21 days of your report of your injury, the insurance company must accept your injury, deny your injury or temporarily accept your injury for 90 days. If your claim is denied you should seek assistance from a workers’ compensation lawyer, like Rankin & Gregory to file a claim petition to pursue the benefits you deserve.
