What to Do Immediately After Getting Hurt at Work
If you’ve been injured at work, there are certain things that you must do to protect your legal right to workers’ compensation benefits. While the following may seem obvious or common sense, the following touch on some of the most common mistakes that injured workers make following an on the job accident. As a Boston workers’ comp lawyer, I deal with these issues every day.
So what should you do immediately after getting hurt at work?
- Report the accident to your employer
- Find Witnesses and Get Contact Information
- Take photographs
- Seek Medical Attention
- Find Out the Name of Your Workers Compensation Insurer
- Contact a workers’ compensation attorney
Our attorneys explain each step in detail below, and please contact our office if you need a skilled Boston personal injury lawyer who will fight on your behalf.
Report The Accident to Your Employer
The first and most important thing you need to do to protect your right to receive workers compensation is to report the accident to your employer. If your employer has a policy of completing a company work accident report, make sure that you fill out an accident report. If not, make sure that you document that you reported the accident to your employer. You can do this by simply sending a written memo or even an email to your manager or supervisor documenting the date, time and description of your work accident. This is very important in the event that your employer tries to deny that the accident occurred at work.
Find Witnesses and Get Contact Information
Make sure that you get the names and contact information of any witnesses to your accident whether they are coworkers or someone outside your company. it is no help if you can’t locate a witness if you don’t have the person’s full name and contact information. Get the name, telephone number and email address.
Take Photographs of the Accident Area and Conditions
In many cases, a workers’ compensation claim will come down to a hearing. When that happens, physical evidence could be crucial. Photographic evidence of the accident scene could provide illuminating context regarding how a victim suffered injury. Testimony from witnesses could also provide context for the cause of your injuries.
Seek Medical Attention
Go to the doctor or emergency room as soon as possible following your work injury. Make sure that you give the nurses and doctors a complete description of the work accident and your symptoms. Give a complete medical history of any prior injuries. If the doctor tells you to stay out of work due to your injury, get a disability note. Make a copy of the note to give to your work. Keep the original disability note with your records. Make sure that you seek appropriate follow-up medical treatment if your medical condition does not improve. For example, if the doctor kept you out of work for a week and you don’t feel any better after that, you must see a doctor or medical professional to be re-evaluated and obtain an additional disability note to give to your employer. Again, make a copy and keep the original disability note.
Find Out the Name of Your Workers Compensation Insurer
If you are out of work for five days due to a work injury, your employer is supposed to file a First Report of Injury with the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents. Ask your employer for the name of its workers comp insurer. by state law, all Boston employers are supposed to post the name and contact information for their workers comp insurers in an area at the employer’s place of business that is visible to their employees.
Contact an Experienced Workers’ Comp Lawyer.
If you are going to be disabled indefinitely, contact an experienced Wakefield workers’ compensation attorney immediately. Even if you are receiving workers comp benefits, contact a workers comp lawyer to make sure that you are receiving all the benefits to which you are entitled and to advise you about your legal rights to workers comp. In some cases, you may be entitled to additional benefits over and above workers compensation through a third-party claim against a negligent person or company who may be legally responsible for your work injury.