An on-the-job injury can happen any time, bringing you expensive medical bills and a loss of income by being off work. You'll want to file a worker's compensation claim to protect your income and keep you on your feet financially. There are several reasons why a claim can be denied, so give yourself the best odds of it being approved. Be ready before an injury happens and engage a workers compensation attorney soon after an injury occurs. Here is how to prepare yourself, before and after you have an accident on the job.
1. Report all accidents and injuries to your supervisor.
As soon as you can after an injury, report it to your company. This becomes part of your permanent employee records which are reviewed as a part of a worker's compensation benefits process. If your records show that you don't report injuries promptly, your claim may be denied because you don't take on-the-job injuries seriously.
2. Document everyone within sight of your accident.
The insurance company won't just take your word about the accident. They will want to interview anyone who may have seen or heard it. If you can't provide enough witnesses to the event, your claim is likely to be denied because of a lack of validation of the accident and what lead up to it.
3. Get medical attention quickly after the injury.
Again, this shows that you take on-the-job injuries seriously. Go to your doctor or the company's health services personnel for an examination. You want detail records about the injury, prognosis and treatment recommendations. If you don't follow through with treatment, your benefits may also be denied because the injury wasn't serious enough for you to receive treatment.
4. Prepare a consistent story about the event.
Your workers compensation attorney will help you to know how to respond to the insurance reviewers about your accident. It must be accurate, factual and match any documentation in your employee or medical records. Any inconsistencies in what you tell the reviewers will cause your claim to be rejected. Some of the information your lawyer will help you put together includes:
- the precise dates, times and locations of the accident, medical visits and treatments
- your actions leading up to and immediately following the accident
- how the injury has affected your ability to work and impacts future work efforts
5. Complete and submit the worker's compensation application correctly.
Simple errors in your claim will result in a rejection. Your attorney will collect all of the information from you and complete the forms and submit them with any supporting documentation. This gives you the best chance of your claim for benefits being approved the first time it is submitted. Contact an attorney, like Leen and Emery, for more help.
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