When you get hurt on the job your whole life gets turned around. You have to worry about not only recovering but enduring the financial burden due to new medical expenses but also the burden of not being able to work again permanently or for a period of time. If you’ve never dealt with this before then it’s may not be something that comes easily to you. In order to receive the compensation, you need to know your rights as an injured worker. Also, you must be aware of the common mistakes made when you have a workplace injury.
Before knowing what your rights are you have to make sure you do the work upfront to protect them. You’ll have to report your injury/illness in a certain period of time to your employer. In the state of California, it has to be within 30 days or you will not be able to receive benefits. Typically you would want to do this before receiving treatment unless it is a medical emergency. In order to protect your rights, you also have a right to file the claim with the workers compensation court or industrial court. This will put a formal notice on your injury for your employer, the court, and your employer’s insurance company.
It’s important to know what rights you have as an injured worker. You have the right to seek out a doctor and procure medical treatment. Note that you may need to use a doctor referred to by your employer as they are part of their medical network. You are entitled to disability compensation when you are unable to return to work permanently or temporarily. You also have a right to appeal decisions that are made by the employer’s insurance company, the employer, or the workers compensation court.
There are several common mistakes people make after getting injured on the job. One is not reporting all of your injuries. The last thing you want to do is not to mention secondary injuries. If you bring these injuries up later then you run the risk of committing workers compensation fraud. Also, make sure you report the symptoms you experienced and may have overlooked. For example, if you were exposed to toxic chemicals while on the job then you should report things such as flu-like symptoms.
Another common mistake is not disclosing previous work injuries. You must be transparent with your doctor on any history of being hurt on the job. That includes some things you may consider minor even if it has nothing to do with your new injury. If you don’t have the report on file, it may be considered fraud. If it’s revealed later you may even have to repay workers compensation fees that you’ve already received.
Getting injured in the workplace and the aftermath of it is tremendous. People often don’t know what rights they do have and fall into the trap of making common mistakes. Law Offices of Kropach & Kropach are experienced in workplace injuries and want to make sure you’re getting treated fairly and justly. Schedule a free initial consultation using the contact form on the bottom of this page or by calling 818-609-7005.
