News

Injured At Work? What You Need To Know

August 11, 2017

The pain from an injury at work hurts, but so can unpaid medical bills. If you’re injured and haven’t taken the proper steps for workers’ compensation reimbursement, your payments may be halted or denied. Here are the steps that we recommend you follow to ensure that your claim is processed as efficiently as possible:

Get Medical Attention. Generally, after an injury at work you have to go to a doctor approved by the workers’ compensation insurance company that insures your employer. This, however, isn’t entirely possible when you have an injury that requires emergency medical attention. So, go to the emergency room or urgent care and get the necessary medical care. Don’t be surprised if a urinalysis screening is requested.

Notify your employer. This step is very important and needs to be done as soon as possible, even if that means from inside the emergency room. We recommend that you notify your immediate supervisor or manager; using email or text messaging creates an electronic trail that may be useful in the future. Send copies of the email or text to as many managers or supervisors as possible. If you have an accident, but no pain, we still recommend providing notification. This way, if you have any pain down the line, your employer cannot say that it wasn’t their fault or an accident never occurred. A workers’ compensation claim may be barred after two years if certain legal requirements, as specified in the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act, are not met.

Be Detailed. When you notify your employer, details are important. You must include what, where, when, why, and how the injury happened. Leave nothing out. If the detail seems unimportant, say it anyway. This avoids any future questions or doubt about the incident.

Keep Records. Keep all medical records, bills paid due to the injury, police statements or anything else involved with your case. including pictures of your injuries. This will help your case run smoothly if all evidence is readily available.

If the medical care is not forthcoming, get legal help. After your employer is notified, the workers’ compensation insurance carrier will assign an adjuster to your case. Many times adjusters are not as prompt as your situation may require. In the event that the adjuster fails to return phone calls, fails to schedule necessary medical appointments, or otherwise does not promptly act on your claim, we can help.

Determine if you have a case. When you call a workers’ compensation law firm, make sure that you have available all of the details of the injury; the nature of your employment; where, when, and how the injury happened, and any other details that may be important to your claim.

If you’re unsure what to do, don’t be afraid to ask for our help. For a free consultation, contact Slaughter Law at 910-763-1109.