If you have been injured at work, you may be questioning your options and your future. The workers’ compensation process allows injured workers to be compensated for their medical bills and time off of work. However, this process can be very confusing, especially without help from an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.
Although it is possible to file for workers’ compensation on your own, people very rarely find the outcome to be as successful or as beneficial as it would have been if they had chosen to seek help from an attorney. The money spent for a lawyer will typically be made back through the compensation you receive by utilizing their talents, knowledge, and experience.
Even with proper legal representation, it is still important to understand the steps and tasks that lie ahead of you when filing for workers’ compensation.
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Inform Your Employer
The first step that you should take is to inform your employer of your injury. By letting them know the specifics as soon as possible after the injury, the more likely it is that your claim will be approved. The sooner that you make them aware of the case, the less likely that your employer or the courts will question the validity of the correlation between the work and the injury or illness. Reporting an injury to your employer is not essential to a workers’ compensation claim, but it is a step that can help ensure that your claim gets allowed.
Seek Medical Attention
No matter how severe your injury or illness may be, it is always wise to seek medical attention as soon as possible. For medical reasons, it makes sense to talk to a doctor immediately to make sure that you are making the best decisions for your health moving forward. Also, it is important to see a doctor as soon as possible, as the sooner that a doctor documents your work related injuries, the better chance you have of getting your bills and compensation covered.
Fill Out Appropriate Forms
There will be a series of forms that need to be filled out over the course of your workers’ compensation claim depending on how the claim develops, but the first form that generally needs to be filled out is a First Report of Injury form. Generally speaking, you will receive this form from your doctor, and sometimes, you will receive it from your employer, but if that does not happen the form is easily available to be filled out. Once the appropriate forms are filled out, you will receive a claim number, but this does not necessarily mean that your case is approved or that benefits and treatment will be paid. An experienced attorney can help you throughout this entire process, helping to assure that your case moves forward appropriately.
If you have any questions regarding the steps that you should take when filing workers’ compensation, do not hesitate to speak with one of the attorneys at The Harris Firm today.