When you’ve been injured at work, and you believe there’s even a chance that you have a valid workers’ compensation claim, you need to immediately start keeping track of the details and following certain procedures to make sure your rights are protected. It’s common for even entirely valid claims for workers’ comp to be initially denied, and that can add to the stress and difficulty of your situation, not to mention increase delays in payment. It’s our area of expertise to advise Ohio workers who have been injured on the job about how they can protect their rights and make sure they receive the compensation that is due to them. In our experience, there are some common problems and mistakes that people make when they’re pursuing a workers’ comp claim — here’s how to avoid these missteps.
The Injury Has to Have Happened at Work
In order to be eligible to claim workers’ compensation, you have to have been injured at work or in the course of your professional duties. If you were injured on your own time, and are too injured to work, you may be able to receive reimbursement for your missed work through your workplace’s sick leave policies, but this isn’t workers’ comp. If you were injured at work, or even at your workplace but not in the course of your work duties (over your lunch break, for example) you may be eligible for reimbursement through the workers’ compensation program. If you were doing something FOR your work, but not PART of your job (such as shopping for clothing you need for work) you probably are not eligible for workers’ comp, except for in a few rare circumstances). If you aren’t sure if your injury would count as a workers’ comp injury, a good workplace injury attorney in your area should be able to advise you about the specifics of your situation.
You Were Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol
If you had been drinking or using drugs at the time of your injury, you may not be eligible for compensation. And, at a minimum, this will complicate your case. It’s not impossible to claim workers’ comp if you were under the influence of substances at the time of your injury, but the outcome in situations like this will depend heavily on the circumstances of the injury and the documentation that surrounds your case. If your workplace supplied the alcohol (at a celebration or event) and you can provide witnesses that can attest that the circumstances of your injury were not due to intoxication, but due to some sort of workplace negligence not on your part, you still may be able to successfully claim workers’ compensation. In most cases, though, any type of intoxication makes it more difficult to sort out which part of the responsibility was on the part of your employer and which part was yours. If you’re dealing with a situation such as this, you will want to take extra care with your documentation and witness statements.
You Did Not Seek Timely Medical Advice (or Did Not Follow the Advice You Were Given)
Any time you are injured at work, even if you don’t initially think you will want to pursue workers’ comp, you should make sure you see a doctor right away. Seeing a doctor immediately protects your rights in case you do decide to pursue a claim, for instance if the injury turns out to be more severe than you initially believed. If you have a fall at work, for example, and you think it’s no big deal, but 10 days later you realize there might actually be something wrong, your employer may be able to successfully argue that your pain and injury are not due to the workplace fall, but due to something that may have happened in the intervening 10 days. If, instead, you see a doctor right away, even for a minor injury, you can later provide evidence of the connection between the fall and the injury, if needed. You also need to follow your doctor’s advice. If you don’t, your employer (or their insurance company) may be able to argue that the responsibility for a longer recovery is on you for not following the doctor’s advice.
Your Documentation Is Incomplete
When you are injured at work, you need to take care to document the situation in great detail, as soon as possible after the incident. If you can take photos of the area where the injury occurred, including any failed equipment, spills, safety violations, etc., this will help you make your case later. Doctor’s records (as mentioned above) are also essential for making your case. And collecting statements from any witnesses or people who helped you after the accident will also help to establish the facts of the situation while things are still fresh in everyone’s mind. If you decide to work with an experienced workers’ comp law firm (like all of us here at CTBC), we can help you to collect and organize this documentation.
There’s a lot to keep track of after a workplace injury in order to protect your rights moving forward. And this comes at a time that you are already stressed, hurting, and overwhelmed. Rely on a reputable workers’ comp attorney to navigate these challenges and strengthen your claim. If you have questions about a Cincinnati-area worker’s compensation claim, we’re happy to help. Call us here at Clements, Taylor, Butkovich & Cohen, LPA Co., to find out how we can support you in looking after your rights.