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Types of Common Workplace Injuries
When you get injured at work, it can happen in an instant but change your whole life. If you’re not sure if your injury will qualify for benefits, a good first step to take is to learn more about the most common workplace injuries and compare them to your situation.
Some injuries can seem like they won’t qualify for workers’ compensation benefits when in reality, they will. Finding out about the most common injuries can help you make a decision about what to do next.
Some of the more common workplace injuries include:
- Workplace assaults: When one or more workers is assaulted while on the job.
- Traffic incidents: Injuries sustained during accidents/crashes involving company vehicles.
- Caught in/compressed by: Injuries involving heavy machinery, such as in factories.
- Fall to lower level: Falling off a ladder, off a roof, or down stairs, for example.
- Overexertion: These are considered to be some of the most common workplace injuries, and are caused by pushing, pulling, carrying, holding, or lifting.
- Slips and falls: Slipping and falling on uneven floor surfaces or slippery floors. They can also happen during winter on uncleared walkways.
- Repetitive motion: Injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome or back injury, which are caused by repeating the same task or motion over and over.
- Struck by object: Injuries caused by a falling object or another person dropping an object.
- Struck against an object: Injuries involving an object such as a wall, door, or window.
Important Things to Know About Workers’ Compensation Cases
Workers compensation attorneys will be able to help you work through all of the various aspects of your claim, but there are some things you will want to be informed about. You’ll want to know about things like the statute of limitations for filing a claim for your injury, what documents to keep on hand (incident reports, medical bills, etc.), and what sort of compensation to seek out.
Some of the types of compensation include permanent injury, lost wages, medical bill reimbursement, and more. If you’re not sure of any of this information or what will be required for filing a claim, a work injury lawyer will be able to help you understand and will explain the process.
The Claims Filing Process
Filing a workers’ compensation claim shouldn’t be overwhelming, and when you have help from a workers’ compensation attorney, they’ll be able to help you sort through the complexities.
The first thing you’ll need to do is report the incident to your employer. This should be done within seven days. If you seek medical treatment, be sure to notify medical professionals that you are dealing with a work injury, as there may be specific doctors or facilities that you have to work with.
Next, the insurance carrier will open a claim for benefits. Once they receive reports from the employer and doctors, they’ll determine whether the claim is compensable. If it is, the carrier will discuss with the employer and injured person to determine the rate of pay that the injured party will receive while out of work.
If the claim is denied for some reason, the injured person will have the option to appeal the decision.
