How to Protect Your Rights by Documenting Your Work Injury

Injured workers want to trust that their employer will take care of them, and many can. Unfortunately, some employers don’t have their employees’ best interests in mind or they simply aren’t good at properly managing workers’ comp claims. It’s easy to believe that your employer will take care of you if you are injured, but it’s always important to be safe rather than sorry. To protect your rights, remember to take these important steps:

 

• Collect as much evidence about your injury as possible. Write down details you might soon forget such as date, time, circumstance, your employer’s response, your doctor’s report, etc. Be sure to take pictures of your injuries as well, even if you think there is a chance you won’t need them.
• Make a formal report of your injury to your supervisor. This report should be delivered both verbally and in writing.
• If there was another party or machine that caused your injury, collect evidence and write a report relating to that as well.
• Ask your attorney asses your report before you submit it. He or she can help you decide whether or not the documentation relating to your claim is helpful. Your attorney might not be involved right when your injury occurs, but taking these additional steps could be extremely important to your case down the road.

 

The Oxner + Permar team of 25 dedicated, knowledgeable attorneys have won more than $275m in workers’ comp awards and settlements for clients. We are here to ensure that you have someone on your side every step of the way.