If you have been involved in a workplace accident or sustained a work related injury, you may be entitled to compensation and medical treatment under your employer's workers' compensation insurance. Unfortunately, this is not always as easy as it sounds. If you do not take the proper steps to establishing and filing your claim, you may receive the news that your claim has been denied. One of the most important steps you need to do is to ensure you establish the proper paper trail. Here are some things you may want to consider.
Report Your Injury
The very first thing you must do in any workers' compensation case is report to your employer that you have actually been injured. The amount of time you have varies by state, and while most states require that you report it within 30 days of the accident, there are exceptions. For example, in Colorado your injury must be reported in writing within four working days of the injury. In the case of something like a repetitive stress injury, you must report it as soon as you think that it has been caused by your job.
It is not enough to just make a verbal report to a supervisor, you want to make sure that you fill out whatever accident/injury report forms that your employer has available. Although this is important for any injury, it is especially important for an injury that you may not immediately seek medical treatment for.
Reporting the injury will help to establish the date of your initial claim.Answer all of the questions in as much detail as you are able to. This will help you to remember dates, times, witnesses and other factors if you have any further problems, or if you end up needing treatment. Failing to file within the specified window can result in your claim being denied.
File Your Initial Claim
Reporting your injury is not the same as filing a claim, although depending on the accident or injury, you may complete all of the paperwork at the same time. In some states the window to file a claim is much longer than the one in which you have to report the accident. These time frames usually range from 30 to 90 days, although depending on your state, they may be as much as one to five years.
Maintain Your Own Record
Once you report it and file a claim, each and every case will be individualized. This includes the type of treatment you require, the amount of time you are out of work, any limitations or restrictions that may occur as a result of your injury and more.
It is very important that you do not depend on your workers' compensation administrator or even your attorney to be the only person to maintain your file, but that you do so on your own. Paperwork gets lost, miskeyed, and/or misfiled. Which could result in it not being available when it comes time for settlement. Always make sure that you keep a copy of everything that is related to your workers' comp claim. This includes:
- Any and all forms you fill out
- Documents you sign
- Any correspondence you receive
- Appointment cards
- Medical reports
- Pay stubs, check stubs, and time sheets
- Receipts for any out of pocket expense
- Mileage logs and more
The easiest way to organize all of this material is to create a tabbed binder with the various sections. Place a pencil pouch in your binder for a quick place to stash small appointment cards or receipts.
This way you will be prepared if you have to hire an attorney, or if anything is ever missing from your file, you will have a copy. Establishing the proper paper trail could really make a difference in your final compensation.