5 Steps you Need to Take after a Workplace Injury
Being injured while on the job can present a confusing and difficult set of circumstances for the individual who is afflicted. Not only is there the physical injury itself to contend with, but there is also the concern of how to financially pay for the medical costs and managing the relationship with the company that is being worked for. If you are injured while in the workplace, some of these concerns can be alleviated through filing a workers’ compensation claim, which is a right granted to everyone hurt on the job in the State of Florida. There are some useful tips for what you should do after sustaining a workplace injury.
The first thing that you should always do after sustaining a workplace injury, besides obtaining any emergency medical attention of course, is file an incident report with the company’s human resources department. By documenting the event that caused the injury, as well as the injury itself, it creates a starting point for any workers’ compensation case in the future. Secondly, you should seek out medical attention. If the injury is severe enough, you can do this first of course, but if not, it should be very shortly after the injury is sustained. This is for the sake of your own health, even beyond the case.
An important thing to remember with regards to treating the injury is to document every step of the recovery process, from doctor’s visits to self-treatments. The more documentation, the better because it will help support the amount you are seeking in a workers’ comp claim and will prove it in a court of law. It is however not a good idea to post about it, or anything related, on social media. This can be used against you in court and invalidates some aspects of it in the eyes of the court.
Finally, it is important to hire an attorney to help you through the technical legal processes. It can be very confusing to try to represent yourself in a court of law and many companies and insurance agencies will try to take advantage of you and get around the basic right to worker’s compensation that we enjoy in this state. With many years serving the Tampa Bay area in this capacity, we at the Franco Law Firm would be happy to assist you in your workers’ comp case as well and give you the best chance possible to obtain victory and justice. To learn more and to schedule a free consultation with us, please call (813) 872-0929.
