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Employees generally have about 45 days to report work injuries to employers, but they should make sure they report them as soon as possible. Once your employer knows about your injury, you may want to seek legal assistance to file a work injury claim.
Without a workers’ compensation attorney by your side, you may be unaware of the full extent of potential benefits for which you are eligible. If you’ve experienced a work injury recently, schedule a consultation with a workers’ compensation lawyer in Palos Heights as soon as possible to start developing your case.
Learn About Commonplace Work Injuries
Workplace injuries can instantly change your life, which is why it’s important to act fast following injury. If you’re unsure about whether or not your injury makes you eligible for worker’s compensation benefits, learning about the various types of workplace injuries can help you determine how commonplace injuries compare to yours. Certain injuries may appear more eligible for benefits than others, but you may be surprised.
Some of the many common work injuries include:
- Traffic incidents: Injuries that occur while using company vehicles.
- Overexertion: Typically regarded as injuries resulting from pushing, pulling, carrying, holding, and throwing.
- Slips and falls: Injuries sustained during falls on slippery, wet, or uneven flooring, or slips on icy or snow-covered sidewalks and streets.
- Struck against an object: Injuries involving windows, walls, doors, etc.
- Struck by an object: Injuries resulting from dropped or falling objects.
- Workplace assaults: When one or more workers are assaulted on the job.
- Fall to a lower level: Falling off of a roof, ladder, or stairs.
- Repetitive motion: Injuries that occur during repeated motions.
- Caught in/compressed by: Injuries that generally occur in industrial environments involving heavy machinery, including factories.
What You Should Know About Work Injury Claims
Even if you hire legal representation to handle your work injury claim, you should still have a good understanding of what your claim entails to figure out how much compensation you’re eligible to receive.
You should know your case’s statute of limitations, the paperwork your case requires, and the type of benefits you’re seeking, which can include permanent injury, medical bill reimbursement, lost wages, and other types of compensation. If you need more information about any aspect of your case, an experienced work injury attorney can answer any questions you have.
The Claim Filing Process
Filing claims can be complicated, but it doesn’t have to be with the help of reliable legal representation. Knowledgeable attorneys can make the entire claims process much simpler.
The first thing you should do upon sustaining an injury in the workplace is notify your employer, ideally within the first seven days. When seeking medical care, you should inform staff about the work-related circumstances of your injury, because medical staff may require you to visit specific doctors or facilities.
Following medical assessment, an insurance carrier will open a benefits claim after receiving reports from both your doctor and your employer.
If they believe the claim is compensable, the provider will discuss their case with the injured party and the employer to negotiate an agreeable rate of pay for the injured employee while they recover out of work. Rejected claims still give injured parties the opportunity to appeal.
