If you were injured in a workplace accident, your health should be the top priority. If you don’t put yourself first and assert this early on, you could risk not receiving the coverage needed to recover from your injuries. If your employer has a workers compensation program, then you must notify them of your injury accident immediately. From there, your employer should give you paperwork to fill out and ask if you would like to see a doctor the very same day.
Don’t wait to report the injury.
If you wait to report the accident, then you could miss important deadlines in filing your claim. Respond right away by notifying your employer or manager on duty at the time, so you can protect your best interests and ensure that any hazards are attended to promptly. A workplace hazard that goes unaddressed can cause more incidents of injury to others.
Don’t decline a doctor’s visit.
After telling your employer about the workplace injury accident, they are likely to ask if you would like to see a doctor. Some workers may be nervous in the situation and decline seeing a doctor because they don’t think their injuries are that serious at the moment. But what can then happen is if you do need coverage for medical care later on, you may not receive the maximum benefits possible or the insurance company may wonder why you did not come forward sooner.
Don’t give into workplace pressure.
Unfortunately, there are some workplaces where the common culture is to not put yourself first. So in the event of a workplace accident, some employees may be worried that they will be judged not only by their superiors but their co-workers as well. Don’t forget that this is about you and being able to recover fully from your injuries. You deserve to receive proper treatment, so don’t accept pressure in the workplace for anything less.
A workers compensation lawyer from Cohen & Cohen, P.C. has seen how injured workers are not treated fairly after a workplace accident. Employees are strongly encouraged to notify an employer about an injury without delay, and continue to watch out for their own interests from start to end.