You may be feeling overwhelmed. Not only did you suffer an extremely painful injury at work, you now have to complete paperwork in order to receive compensation for your injuries.
You’re supposed to be focusing on healing and recovering, but at the same time, you have to worry about filing a workers’ compensation claim.
You have no idea where to begin, but you know that you must file your claim within a timely manner to receive the compensation you deserve.
What are the first steps?
Immediately after sustaining a workplace injury, you should seek medical attention, even if the injury may not require emergency care. After receiving medical attention, you can start the workers’ comp claim process.
Step 1: You must notify your employer before filing a workers’ compensation claim. Even if your boss already knows about your injury, you should have it in writing. Text, email or send a handwritten letter as soon as you are able. Having documentation for every step of a workers’ comp claim is essential.
Step 2: After you have notified your employer, they will give or mail you a workers’ compensation claim form to fill out. After you complete the employee portion of the form, hand it over to your employer so they can fill out their section of the claim and submit it to the insurance company. It may be wise to keep a copy for your records.
Step 3: Hopefully, you will not need to take further steps. The insurance company has 14 days to inform you of the status of your claim. There is a possibility of a claim denial, and if that happens, then you may want to object to the denial of your claim, which will require more steps. As long as your workers’ comp claim is accepted, you should receive the compensation benefits you deserve.