What Should I Do If I Have An Accident At Work?

You should be trained in safety protocols and how to react to an accident in the workplace. However, if you are like many other Americans, then your employer only briefly covered these safety topics during your hiring or training courses, and now you do not know what to do if you are hurt in a workplace accident. For a quick refresher, you should always do the following after an accident at work:

• Get medical attention: Your health should be your first concern. Call an ambulance if it is necessary and get the treatment and care you need so you can make the best recovery possible. Your employer could have a list of urgent care medical providers who can see, diagnose, and treat you after a workplace accident. It is imperative that you see a medical professional as soon as possible, whether they are in your network or not. Depending on your employer’s insurance plans, you might even be allowed to see your own doctor.
• Tell your employer: As soon as you can after your accident, inform your employer about what happened. The law sets limited time frames for reporting your claim. If you wait too long, you could lose out on workers’ compensation benefits. You do not need to dive into the details, but you do need to give them the overall concept, such as “I was climbing the ladder when I fell.” Telling your employer face-to-face is fine but informing them in writing is ideal. The same day of your accident, you or someone you trust should email your employer or supervisor to create a digital paper trail.
• Call an attorney: Once you have been treated for your injuries, you should start to think about how to approach your workplace accident from a legal angle. Call a local work accident attorney at Midwest Disability, and tell us what happened. If we can work on your case, we will want to call your employer quickly to instruct them to preserve any evidence they have regarding your accident, like security camera footage and internal injury reports. Without this instruction, a workplace can freely discard evidence, sometimes within just a few days of the accident.

How Do I Get Work Comp Benefits?

After you report your injury to your employer, your employer is required to report your injury to the employer’s workers’ comp insurance company. The insurer will then investigate your claim to determine whether your injuries were related to your work. You are entitled to benefits regardless of fault so long as you were injured on the job. This means that you do not need to prove your employer was negligent in order to receive coverage for medical costs and lost wages. Instead, you will only need to show that your injury occurred during the normal course of your work.

At Midwest Disability, in Minneapolis, we can help you understand the workers’ compensation process. With years of experience handling workers’ comp claims in Minnesota, we will answer your questions about the process and work hard to help you secure benefits after an injury or illness. If your claim for workers’ comp is denied, our Minnesota workers’ comp lawyers can help you through the process of appealing your denied claim, if an appeal is appropriate in your case.

Work comp is all we do. It doesn’t cost you anything to learn about your options. Call Midwest Disability today at 888-387-4135 to schedule a free consultation. You can also contact us online.