If you suffer an injury on the job, you may be entitled to workers compensation benefits to help cover the cost of your medical bills and allow you to pay your other financial obligations while you are out of work. Unfortunately, if you are like far too many injured workers, you may choose to never pursue these benefits due to a belief in common myths. Below, the truth about these myths will be exposed as you learn about two of the most important facts concerning your workers compensation claim.
Fact 1: Your Employer Cannot Fire You For Filing A Claim
It is quite common for injured workers to fear being terminated or demoted as a result of their decision to file a workers compensation claim. After all, most people will intend on returning to the same job once their injuries are healed. Actively pursuing a legal claim against your employer can raise understandable concerns regarding the work environment that you will be returning to. However, it is important to know that the law protects against this type of retaliation.
In addition to ensuring you have a job to go back to, current worker compensation laws also protect you against other types of retaliation, such as adverse schedule changes, demotion, and a hostile work environment. If you believe that your employer is targeting you due to a workers compensation claim, this information, along with any evidence you may have, should be given to a qualified workers compensation attorney as quickly as possible. This attorney will be able to help you get the justice, and compensation, that you deserve.
Fact 2: A Failure To Immediate Report Your Injuries Will Not Result In An Immediate Denial
Many injuries do not fully manifest for hours, days, or even weeks following an accident. Consequently, there are many workers who will choose not to report an injury to their employer until after they discover how serious this injury truly is. In these cases, workers are often led to believe that their failure to immediately report the injury will cost them their right to file a workers compensation claim. However, this is nothing more than a myth.
The law provides a reasonable delay in the reporting of injuries without losing your right to file a claim. How a reasonable delay is defined will vary depending upon the injury. For instance, while it is reasonable to believe that it may take a few days to fully be aware of muscle damage, it is not reasonable to believe that it took several days to become aware of a complex bone fracture.
The longer you wait to report your injuries, the more room the insurance company will have to argue that your injuries did not occur on the job. So while a delay in your injury report may not result in an immediate denial, it can make it more difficult to win your case. This is yet another reason why you should enlist the services of a qualified workers compensation attorney from a firm like Shaw Leslie Law Office.
Share23 January 2015
Although I am far from perfect, I have focused on abiding by the local laws for the vast majority of my life. Unfortunately, about five years ago, I realized that I was being accused of a crime that I didn't commit. I thought about letting the trial run its course, but then I realized that fighting would be important to ensure my future. I teamed up with a great lawyer, and things became much easier overnight. My legal counsel told me what to do and what to avoid, and he was able to prove the facts in a court of law. This blog is all about choosing to fight charges.