Your place of work should not be a place of fear. Unfortunately, when injuries happen frequently at your office or worksite, it can be scary to earn your living. At The Harris Firm, we work to support injured workers so that you can get back to your job and normal life after experiencing a work place injury.

Occupational injuries are very common, and can prove to be devastating to an injured worker and his or her family. Jobs that are high-risk, or lack safety devices have work places injuries. Moreover, these same jobs often fail to provide adequate training and hire too few laborers for the amount of work being done.

Injuries can come from all different kinds of accidents, from a burn in the office kitchen to a herniated disk from lifting a patient out of his or her bed. No matter what the problem is, it is not your fault, and you should not have to bear the weight of the financial burdens that it causes. Time away from work and medical bills alone could put you in the hole for a long time, not to mention the emotional cost of pain and suffering, and the impact that it can have on a family structure.

Being injured can also take an emotion toll on injured workers. Most people gain some degree of satisfaction from their jobs. Having that taken away can be difficult; especially when it is accompanied by financial questions that can arise from missing work can result in frustration and depression. These emotional difficulties are not rare, they are common problems that arise from work injuries.

Even though the workers compensation system can make it feel like an injury your fault, please know that it is your employer’s responsibility to protect their workers. When you are injured at work, it should be the employer that takes responsibility for the situation and takes steps to make sure you are treated appropriately. Unfortunately, this is often not what happens. If these things are not happening at your place of employment, it’s important to contact a lawyer to seek legal advice about the situation.

What to do after being injured at work

After being involved in an accident at work, your next steps can mean the different between a life-long, debilitating injury and a small wrinkle in your time as an employee for that company. If you’ve been the victim of an injury at work, you should:

• Seek medical attention for your immediate injuries.
• Make sure your doctor knows that you were injured while you were at work, and knows what you were doing when the injury occurred.
• Inform your employer of the injury with a description of the injury and how it happened.
• Keep track of the correspondence between you and your employer for legal reasons.
• Contact an experienced work place injury lawyer in Cincinnati, Ohio to make sure that you are completing your Ohio workers’ compensation or Social Security disability claim correctly.

Can I get compensation for my psychological injury?

The answer to this question mostly depends on the court’s definition of the word, “injury.” In Ohio, psychological conditions are compensable only if they arise from a physical injury.   For example, if you develop depression due to struggles related to your injury, the depression may be covered by the Ohio workers’ compensation system.

Unfortunately, if there is no physical injury, there is no claim in Ohio. While there are some states that recognize psychiatric issues that are a direct result of job-related emotional stress, Ohio is not one of them.

What now?

It is crucial that you contact a lawyer as you try to navigate the murky waters of seeking compensation for an injury sustained at work. The laws and legislation in this area are changing frequently, and the experienced attorneys at The Harris Firm pride themselves on gaining and maintaining a handle on all of these updates and using this knowledge to help our clients.

With over 40 years of experience of representing and supporting injured workers, The Harris Firm can help you maximize the value of your benefits. It is possible that your employer may be trying to minimize the amount of compensation you receive, but we know the laws and the system thoroughly. Contact us today for a consultation.

We really encourage you to ask all of the questions you have because you deserve answers. Plus, it does not cost you anything to speak with one of our attorneys. The free consultation will let you know up front if you need to continue pursuing the work place injury case. It is risk free, and there is no obligation. Call the Cincinnati worker’s compensation lawyers now to learn how we can get you back on your feet in the fastest, most efficient way possible.