Being injured on the job almost gives you another job of working your way through the workers’ compensation process. If you’ve found yourself in this situation, it’s best to have a lawyer by your side to help you get everything filed on time. When should you report your injury? There are a few things to keep in mind.
Reporting to Your Employer
As the injured party in a workplace accident, it is your responsibility to inform your employer that an injury occurred. In some states, if your employer or manager witnessed the accident or has reason to know about the injury already, it’s not your responsibility to report it a second time, though you may want to just to be sure. You also don’t have to report it to the employer in writing, but if you do, you’ll have proof that the report was made if questions arise.
From the time of your accident, you may only have days to report the incident to your employer. In some cases, this could be up to 30 days, but doing it as soon as possible is a good rule of thumb to follow.
Reporting to the Workers’ Compensation Board
Every state has a workers’ compensation board. When you report your injury to your employer, it’s technically your employer’s responsibility to make that call and place the report, though you may want to follow up to ensure it gets done. Sometimes personal information doesn’t get relayed correctly and sometimes accident-related information is also skewed. By calling the board yourself, you ensure everything is accurate.
After that initial report, you can work with an attorney to write up a claim for benefits. This claim needs to be filed within the statute of limitations. This is a time limit that each state gives for these claims to be filed. In some states, such as Utah, employees are only given one year to file the claim. In others, such as Minnesota, employees are given three years if the employer filed a First Report, or six years if there was no First Report filed. Each state is different, and it’s important you understand what your requirements are so you don’t forfeit your right to compensation.
Contacting a Lawyer for Help
After a workplace injury, it could benefit you greatly to work with a lawyer. Contact a workers’ compensation lawyer, today to learn what you need to do to get the claims process started in the appropriate amount of time.