Regardless of the type of work you do, having a workplace injury can be a highly stressful experience. From slip and fall incidents to road accidents, various reasons could bring about an injury during your professional activities. But whatever the reason might be, you must know exactly what to do after facing such a situation.
The reason behind obtaining this workers’ compensation knowledge is simple. If you know the process to follow after an accident at work, you can receive timely medical care. In addition to taking care of your injuries, this also contributes to obtaining lost wages through workers’ compensation insurance in New York.
To ensure that you can get the care that you need through workers’ compensation after a work-related injury, here’s a lowdown on what to do after an accident at work.
What You Should Do After an Accident At Work
Whether you experience a workplace accident while being at your employer’s premises or operating a business vehicle on the road, it qualifies as a work-related injury as long as it was inflicted while fulfilling your professional responsibilities.
In other words, this means that even if your injuries on the job occur while you are away from your office, you, as an employee, may be allowed to receive workers’ compensation benefits if the workplace injuries or accident took place during your work-related activities.
To receive these employer benefits, such as coverage for medical procedures and compensation for lost wages, you need to find a doctor or facility that’s in the network of your insurance provider. Otherwise, you may not receive compensation for your healthcare bills or the time you may need to take off of work.
With this in mind, the following information outlines what steps you should take right after your accident.
File an Incident Report For Your Employers When Injured On The Job
Even if your work-related accident inflicted minor or practically nonexistent injuries, you should file an incident report with your workplace. This makes sure that the incident is documented, which can prevent such a situation in the future. It also helps you with insurance claims in case you notice any injuries a few days after the incident.
Similarly, you should file an incident report after a work-related accident that causes injuries right away. This once again fulfills the purpose of record-keeping for insurance purposes while also helping your workplace take steps to prevent similar incidents. Remember that such an accident report helps you, your insurance provider, and your employers document and implement more safety measures to comply with state law.
Get Medical Attention When Injured On The Job
If you want to make sure that your employer’s workers’ compensation health insurance covers your medical costs, you should find a medical provider who is in the network of your insurance company. If you live in New York, make sure to see a Workers’ Compensation Board authorized healthcare provider (WCB Authorized Provider).. You can find this information through your employer, your insurance company, and even select healthcare facilities.
Some severe accidents may require you to go to the emergency room (ER) without wasting a moment. In such cases, the ER bill for non-network institutions may not be covered under your workers’ comp at first. But the sooner you get medical attention regarding the related issue, the better it is for your recovery. This also cuts the time it takes for you to apply for lost wages through workers’ compensation insurance.
Know Your Options
While workers’ compensation insurance would cover most work-related injuries, even those that involve negligence on your or the employer’s part, the insurance company doesn’t always cover all types of accidents. For instance, any incident or injury that involves alcohol inebriation or drug intoxication is not covered by worker’s compensation.
You should make an informed decision regarding the type of healthcare you receive and the doctor you visit outside your insurance company’s network. This way, you can manage your expectations regarding receiving benefits through the insurance policy.
Inform Your Employer
Workers’ Compensation insurance is mandatory in New York. If you receive medical care under workers’ comp insurance, you, as an employee, are generally not able to file a lawsuit with worker’s compensation attorneys against your employer. But seeing that the employer purchases workers’ comp, the cost for this premium or subsequent medical care does not affect your account. Workers’ comp also allows you, an employee, to receive a part of your lost wages by filing a claim with the insurance carrier.
Keeping this information in mind, you, as an employee, don’t need to file a lawsuit against your employer for general work-related accidents. But employees should still inform them about your doctor’s advice on resting or taking time off work.
Discuss Your Injury Claim With Your Employer
The process of informing your employer about your injury gets more detailed after a medical diagnosis since it then allows employees like yourself to describe additional injury information, such as the need to take some time off for treatment. If your doctor has advised you to rest, you should make it a point to tell your employer and ask them to file workers’ compensation claims for you.
Typically if you are injured on the job, your employer should file your claim with your insurance company right away to ensure you receive the benefits you are owed. This allows you to cover your medical costs and lost wages that occur out of your workplace accident. You can raise an injury claim with your human resources (HR) if your claim does not get filled in a timely manner.
Follow Through On Your Application
Whether you keep waiting to hear from your employer about your claim or don’t receive the benefits you need, don’t hesitate to make another inquiry from your employer. This makes sure that you can obtain medical assistance costs and lost wages compensation without undue concerns.
Some employers are quite proactive in updating their employees regarding these processes, while others lag due to a lag in internal processes. Since you require these benefits to continue your treatment or cover your lost earnings, it’s essential to follow through and prevent the process from falling through the cracks.
Knowing about this claim information for employees allows you to breeze through the otherwise complex process, ensuring that your work-related accident doesn’t cause any more problems than it has already inflicted upon you. As long as you have a robust support system at work from other employees and at home, you can recover from your injuries without going through any uncalled-for stress.
You may need the services of an attorney lawyer to help you file a workers’ compensation claim and get the benefits that you deserve.
We understand the value of medical treatment to be a healthy employee and help you navigate workers’ compensation laws if you are injured at work. Contact us to help you find an experienced workers comp doctor near you.