So, you’ve sustained an injury while being on the job and now, feel perplexed about what you should do next, right? Depending on the nature and extent of your injury, you may apply for a workers’ compensation claim. Here’s what you need to know about it.
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What is the Worker’s Compensation Law?
Also known as workers’s compensation insurance, this segment of law offers various benefits to employees who have suffered an injury while working. For instance, it can be used to serve or cover the medical expenses, which have been used to treat your wound.
It can also be used to get compensation for the pay that you’ve missed due to the lost working time. There’s no need to go through a traditional court system to make this claim.
However, remember – the specific credentials of a worker’s compensation can vary by state or the type of injury you’ve suffered. The types of benefits can also differ because of that reason.
How Do You Make the Claim?
Like the benefits, the process of filing a worker’s compensation claim can vary from one state to another. The circumstances regarding your injury can also play a role in this regard.
However, the procedure, in general, will involve the following steps –
Step – 1: Reporting the Injury
Once you have sustained the damage, the first thing you must do – is report the same to your manager or the employer. Most states will require the employee to notify their authority about the injury within a specific timeframe (typically a month or so).
Step – 2: Seek Medical Attention
After the reporting is complete, you should get some medical treatment right away. You might ask your employer to offer a recommendation or go for someone you know already. Be sure to sign a form after you have been checked upon by a doctor. The document will be important.
Step – 3: Fill Out Whatever Form You’ll Need in the Future
Your insurance company and your employer will offer a document or two. These’ll be needed later on for future reference. So once you are done with filling it up, make sure to keep a copy of the same. You might have to provide it to your lawyer while making the claim.
Step – 4: Start an Investigation
After the claim has been submitted, the insurance company of your employer will investigate the circumstances related to your injury. It’ll determine if you deserve to get the compensation or not. Make sure to hire a lawyer and ask them what you can do to counter their arguments.
Step – 5: Determine the Benefits
If your claim gets an approval from your employer and the insurance company, you will begin to receive all the benefits accordingly. This might include the following –
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages, and
- Rehabilitation costs
The duration and the amount of benefits may depend on the severity of your injury or the law that your state follows. Thus if you want an answer to the question – how much workers comp do I keep? – you might get the best answer to it from your attorney.
Bonus – Make an Appeal
If the organization and their insurance company deny your claim – you will have the right and authority to appeal. It has to be done through a formal procedure. And, you might also have to be present in a hearing in front of an administrative law judge.
So, again, hiring a lawyer will be extremely important for you, no matter what.
Note: The core process of the worker’s compensation claim can be quite time-consuming. It’s also going to be a little difficult, considering if the organization was doing something shady.
So, it might be better to take help from someone who is well-versed in this segment of law. If there’s something you are stuck somewhere, they will be able to help you out with it.
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
As we wanted to stick to the primary question of this article, we had skipped some data in the previous section. So, we will be talking about the same here in a question-answer format.
Hopefully, it will help you understand the topic better.
1: What Type of Injuries are Not Covered by this Claim?
The worker’s compensation claim can cover the injuries that you had sustained while working for your organization. However, there are some certain cases where you won’t get any help.
Here are a few examples where you can get the coverage –
- Back injury caused by repetitive movement
- Pain and suffering due to having carpal tunnel syndrome
- Slipping and falling while working on-site
- Injury to your lungs due to breathing in toxic gasses and substances
- Damage sustained because of a car accident while you were driving for your business
Three instances of when you will not get worker’s compensation –
- Benefits will be denied alcohol or blood tests reveal that you were under the influence of alcohol when you had sustained the injury
- Injuries that you have inflicted all by yourself for some unspecified reason
- You had violated a company or a law policy while working
2: How Does It Affect an Employer?
If you are an employer, it’s a must that you carry at least one specified worker’s compensation insurance. If you don’t, you might get sued by the state, as referred to in your state’s law.
If someone makes the claim, you will have to offer them the financial support they deserve. It will be taken care of by your insurer, so there’s no need to do anything by yourself.
What an Employee Should Keep in Mind?
No matter how grave the injury is (as long as it’s not life-threatening), an employee should be reporting it within a week. Or else, considering your state’s law, your request might get denied by the court or the insurance company of your employer. So, be careful and make sure to keep all of your documentation near your hands.
Good luck!
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