Injured On The Job? Avoid These Common Errors Employees Tend To Make

13 December 2016
 Categories: Law, Blog


Your employer has a responsibility to ensure they carry adequate workers compensation insurance, which covers the costs associated with workplace accidents. Even though most employees do know this, they often make big mistakes if they get hurt on the job. Unfortunately, big mistakes after an injury can mean you are left to deal with the injury and the costs of an injury without any help and this is definitely not a good situation. To ensure you are taken care of after you get injured at work, there are some pretty common mistakes you must avoid. 

Mistake: Not reporting the accident because you fear you will be fired. 

Why? Just because you have been injured at work, it does not mean you have done anything wrong. There are actually laws in place to protect employees from retaliation because they have an injury. In fact, some employers are so strict about adhering to these laws that you would be more likely to be reprimanded for not reporting your injury because it could be considered a violation of workplace policies. 

Mistake: Telling the doctor about the injury, but not your employer. 

Why? Your doctor does need to know you were injured at work, but there is nothing they can do to file an accident claim on your behalf. It is absolutely crucial that your first step after an injury involves reporting to your employer. This report becomes documented evidence that proves you were injured while you were on the clock and that will be incredibly important if you have to talk to an attorney because of unfair treatment after the fact.

Mistake: Downplaying your symptoms or the overall injury when filing a report. 

Why? When you are injured on the job, it is definitely no time to be the tough person to maintain your pride. Trying to mask your injury by telling the employer that it's not too bad or downplaying your symptoms will could be actions that could come back to haunt you later. If your injury turns out to be substantial, your employer could claim that you seemed fine when you filed the report. 

If you are hurt at work, even small mistakes can grow to be big ones if things turn bad and your employer's worker's compensation insurance is not treating you fairly. For more guidance after a workplace injury, it is always a good idea to contact an attorney, like one from Rizzi Law Group, for advice. 


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