What Do I Need to File a Workers’ Comp Claim?

The workers’ compensation system in America was designed to provide financial assistance to any employee that is injured while at work. Due to the fact that this is a right granted to any worker, it is intentionally made easy to file for and take advantage of. While there is not too much needed to file for workers’ comp, there are some things that you definitely will want to have in order to make the process easier and increase the chances of winning your case, if need be.

Typically, you will file a workers’ compensation claim with the human resources department of your company. If you work for a small company that doesn’t have full HR department, the task would fall to whoever manages HR duties. Either way, it is your responsibility to file an incident report detailing the event that caused the workplace injury. More information is always preferred, as it will highly increase your chances of receiving the maximum amount of compensation.

Additional documentation is usually required as well when presenting this information to your HR department. As a general rule of thumb, it is always a good idea to document as much of the medical treatment as possible, even if it doesn’t seem necessary at the time. Doctor’s visits, therapy, medication, and anything else that has been done in the interest of treating the workplace injury is relevant to the filing and, again, will allow you receive more compensation down the line. Beyond providing this information to your company, the rest of filing will not be up to you.

That being said, there are times when a company will attempt to deny a workers’ compensation claim or fail to file it correctly with the intent of not having to pay. If this happens, you can file a case against the company, but when you do, it is highly recommend you have an attorney on your side to help guide you through the process. To learn about how we at the Franco Law Firm can serve you in this capacity, please call us any time at (813) 872-0929.