Suffering an on-the-job injury can leave you facing some major challenges. You might struggle to secure and pay for the medical care that you need, and since you’ll likely be out of work for a significant period of time, you may find it hard to make ends meet. This means that everything from your utilities, your vehicle, and your housing could be at risk.
Although you might be able to recover workers’ compensation benefits to offset your losses, many workers’ compensation applicants end up losing out benefits. If you don’t want that to happen to you, you need to be aware of some of the most common mistakes made in these sorts of cases so that you can be proactive in trying to avoid them.
Common pitfalls in workers’ compensation cases
There are a lot of missteps that can be made in a workers’ compensation case. Here are some of the most significant:
- Failing to seek out proper medical treatment: If you’re claiming that your injuries are so significant that you’re unable to work, which is what you’re doing when you file a claim for workers’ compensation, your injury is probably pretty severe. If you don’t seek treatment for that injury right away, the insurance company that’s handling your claim might argue that the injury isn’t as bad as you’re trying to make it out to be.
- Failing to write down the details of the incident that left you injured: In an attempt to get out of paying you benefits, the insurance company is probably going to try to argue that your injuries were caused outside of work or were exacerbated by activities that were conducted outside of work. Therefore, the details of how you were injured on the job are crucial. If you don’t document exactly what happened, it might be difficult to remember everything. This can put your claim at risk.
- Not notifying your employer in a timely fashion: Remember, you want to have a sense of urgency when it comes to reporting and treating your injuries. Therefore, you should make sure that your employer is made aware of your injuries as soon as possible. It’s best to inform them in writing so that it can’t be disputed when you provided that notice.
- Not cooperating: As part of the claims process, the insurance company may require you to see an independent medical examiner. You need to comply with this requirement and cooperate with that medical professional. If you don’t, your claim might be denied.
- Hiding important facts: You have to be honest throughout the workers’ compensation process. Far too often, people try to hide important facts, even from their own attorney, which can lead to unexpected and unfavorable surprises later on in your case. Therefore, it’s best to be truthful up front so that any harmful facts can be dealt with appropriately.
Building an appropriately thorough case to protect your interests
As you can see, there are a lot of ways that your workers’ compensation claim can be jeopardized. The good news, though, is that you can diligently work to avoid these common mistakes, which will put you in a better position to recover the benefits that you seek. An attorney who is well-versed in this area of the law may be able to help you build your claim so that you’re putting the strongest legal arguments forward. That’s why now may be the perfect time for you to reach out to a trusted legal team to learn more about the process and what it can do for you.