When you’re injured at work, you automatically become eligible for compensation despite the severity of damages. Still, to be compensated, there are some factors to consider and requirements to follow based on your state and current general legal rules and regulations regarding the accident you’re involved in, including:
Filing an Accident Report
Regardless of the severity of damages, bodily harm, or concerns about keeping your job, filing an accident report is mandatory by the workers’ compensation regulations. Experts from accomplished work accident professionals like Flagler Personal Injury Group suggest that getting rightful compensation is possible if you can prove damages and injuries from an official accident report.
On top of that, because different states have different laws and regulations, filing an accident report will help authorities rule your case and offer guidelines on the proper channels of pursuing it. Again, filing a report serves as your source of evidence for late insurance claims. Therefore, file a report to be covered by the workers’ compensation association in the proper standard time, considering some states don’t operate under the last-minute report filing options.
On top of that, the law suggests that you should file an accident report regardless of whether you believe you’re hurt or not. This means an accident report is required regardless of whether you’ve got noticeable damages and injuries or not. The law regards filing for an accident report as a way in which your employer will be required to implement safety measures that’d prevent future accident occurrences, especially if there were no safety measures during the event of your accident. Additionally, filing an accident report serves as a way of immediately protecting you from severe health concerns such as internal bleeding.
Collecting of the Initial Accident Evidence
Collection of evidence is particularly paramount if you’re interested in making a compensation claim after going to the hospital and recovering. Keeping records of evidence serves as a defense if your employer is possibly damaging evidence, thus risking your claim to be rendered irrelevant unless you can prove you were involved in an accident at work. As such, immediately an accident happens at work, you should collect evidence, especially if there are no crime scene investigators or workmates who can support your claims in court. Keep proof by taking photos and videos of the accidents by ensuring your workplace adheres and allows employees to record and take pictures within the surroundings.
Write Down Your Symptoms and Damages to Help Estimate Their Compensation Value in Court
Whether you’re involved in an accident that results in economic or non-economic damages, getting the proper compensation and monetary value demands the availability of evidence to estimate value. Make a list of all symptoms and significant areas of pain, primarily if the matter will be settled in court in the future.
Keeping records of pain and symptoms yourself is essential because doctors and hospitals might focus on apparent injuries, leaving things they can’t comprehend or don’t apply in filing them in their hospital records. When this happens, getting proper compensation will be challenging unless you can present all evidence needed.
Submit a Grievance to Your Employer before Taking the Matter to Court
Suppose your accident isn’t severe, or there is a previous case of the same severity, and your employer handled the matter without involving legal representation. In that case, taking the issue to court might cause fallout with your employer, especially if you’ll want to keep your job. Therefore, submit a grievance and get medical help as you wait for your employer’s response. Also, ensure you’ve got a report and record of a grievance submission, especially in a written form you’ll take to the court in the event you don’t get paid, or the employer blames the accident on you. In case your injuries are serious and you cannot settle the case with your employer, you might consider seeking legal advice. If you live in Los Angeles, for example, Greenberg and Ruby Injury Attorneys, APC can assist you with legal representation so that you can receive proper compensation.
Submit a Subject Access Request
According to the Information Commissioner for workers’ compensation, especially the section that deals with employee protection, submitting a subject access request can be out of curiosity or when you’re sure your employer knows something about you and the accident. Based on the relationship between the two of you and the accident’s severity, submission of a subject access request is usually made after you’ve filed an accident claim in court. This is essential because some employers hide vital information that can invalidate their employees’ compensation claims due to insufficient evidence proving the victim suffered losses and injuries at work.
Determine an Appropriate Means of Settling the Case
Based on the severity of damages, current legal requirements, and the relationship between you and the employer, settling the matter can be done through different means. Determine if mediation or taking the case to court is appropriate.