When someone is injured at work, their first priority should be ensuring their own health and safety. That doesn’t just mean getting emergency medical care, however. It also means taking the right steps to preserve your injury claim, especially if you work in a field that isn’t covered by traditional workers’ compensation, like railway or offshore workers. Today, we wanted to outline the steps you should take to protect your recovery claim.
#1: Report Your Injury or Illness to Your Employer Immediately
Report your injury as soon as possible to your employer. You don’t want to give any excuse to the workers’ compensation insurer to deny your claim. When a workers’ comp insurer sees that an injury took a long time to be reported, it gives them the ability to argue that the injury is either exaggerated or not work-related.
#2: Get Medical Care from an Authorized Healthcare Provider
If you’re in a job covered by workers’ compensation, there should be a list of pre-approved medical providers posted somewhere in your workplace. Louisiana allows workers to choose their own physician after an injury, but that physician must be approved by the employer or workers’ compensation insurer for any medical costs in excess of $750. It may be simpler to go with a medical provider who is already approved by the Workers’ Compensation Board.
In either case, get medical care as soon as possible—preferably within two weeks of your injury.
#3: Report Your Injury in Writing Within 30 Days
You need to notify your employer of your injury in writing within 30 days of your accident or injury. This is a crucial step to winning workers’ compensation benefits (or equivalent benefits for your industry). Failure to do this step could endanger your entire claim, so don’t skip it.
#4: Speak with a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer in Louisiana
Guiding your case through the workers’ compensation process while recovering from your injury, juggling doctor appointments, and providing for yourself or your family might be too much for one person to handle. Additionally, if you file your claim incorrectly, it could delay your benefits for months while you appeal.
Instead, let an experienced Louisiana work injury lawyer handle your claim for you. Clayton, Frugé & Ward has experience fighting for injured workers, getting them the benefits and recovery they need to get back on their feet. Our firm has won over $1 billion for injured people, including the largest single-injury verdict in Louisiana history. Speak with us in a free consultation today so you can focus on healing. We’ll handle the rest.
Call (225) 209-9943 to learn your legal options in a free consultation today.