workers compensation

Work Injuries: What To Do First

Workers’ compensation benefits are designed to provide you with the medical treatment you need to recover from your work related injury or illness, partially replace the wages you lose while you are recovering, and help you return to work. Workers’ compensation benefits do not include damages for pain and suffering or punitive damages.

Report the injury or illness to your employer

Make sure your supervisor is notified of your injury as soon as possible. If your injury or illness developed gradually, report it as soon as you learn or believe it was caused by your job. Reporting promptly helps avoid problems and delays in receiving benefits, including medical care. If you don’t report your injury within 30 days, you could lose your right to receive workers’ compensation benefits. In reporting an injury, your employer should provide you a claim form. If you are not provided a claim form, you should consider contacting an attorney or the Information & Assistance Officer at your local Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. Sometimes, employers intentionally do not report injuries to their carriers in fear that it may impact their insurance rates.

Get emergency treatment if needed

If it’s an emergency, call 911 or go to an emergency room right away. Tell the medical staff that your injury or illness is job-related. If you can safely do so, contact your employer for further instructions.

If you don’t need emergency treatment, make sure you get first aid and see a doctor if necessary.

What’s next?

Once you file a claim, your employer is required to provide you with medical care. Your employer has an obligation to provide you medical attention up to $10,000.00 in cost while there is a determination as to whether the insurance company will accept your claim.

What if I Need Advice?

If you would like a free consultation regarding workers’ compensation, please contact the Law Offices of Edward J. Singer, a Professional Law Corporation. We have been helping people in Central and Southern California deal with their workers’ compensation cases for 27 years. Contact us today for more information.

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