1. Notify Your Employer
To help preserve your right to collect workers’ compensation benefits, quickly notify your employer of the injury.
In some cases, your work injury may require immediate medical attention like calling an ambulance. It is okay to take care of your emergency health care needs before reporting your injury. Just make sure you report the injury to your employer as quickly as possible.
2. Get Medical Attention
If an ambulance was called, they will transport you to an Emergency Room. If your work injury does not require emergency services, your employer must let you know where to seek treatment. California law requires employers to provide you of a Medical Care Network that the employer uses to help injured workers.
3. Notify Medical Provider That You Have Work Injury
By doing so, the physician will bill your employer or its workers’ compensation insurance company if you have a work injury. This tip will help you avoid receiving medical bills.
4. Detail All of Your Pain & Symptoms to the Doctor
Don’t be shy, tell your doctor about all your ailments. Doctors take notes. Those notes must be complete. They will be important evidence in your workers’ compensation claim due to your work injury.
5. Seek Attorney Consultation For Your Work Injury
The workers’ compensation system favors insurance companies. They don’t share your interests and want to close out your claim as soon as possible. There are important deadlines like statues of limitations that bar recovery if you don’t properly file your claim for your work injury.
You are entitled to a lot of rights including temporary disability benefits, competent medical treatment, etc. If your work injury does not fully heal and if your doctor decides that you will always be impaired by the injury. Whether the impairment is slight or serious, you should receive permanent disability benefits.
Computing permanent disability benefits is complicated. Also, insurance companies are typically agreeable to paying higher lump sum settlements in exchange for buying out your future medical care. Important analysis like these are better left for legal professionals.