What Should You Do Right After You Have Been Hurt At Work?
If you are injured while in the scope and course of your employment while at work, you are entitled to workers compensation benefits.
The workers’ compensation laws set up a scheme of benefits which are, in theory, automatic and delivered on a prompt, no fault, efficient basis. However, insurance companies often deny and delay the provision of benefits, even on a significant number of claims subsequently proven to be perfectly valid. It is for this reason that the Workers Compensation Commission has been established in Maryland. The purpose of this body is to arbitrate disputes between an injured worker and an insurance company in a setting of a purportedly no-fault automatic delivery of benefits system.
If you are hurt at work you must:
- immediately report your accident to your supervisor
- you must request medical care if it is needed, and
- you must provide any additional information will fill out any forms as your employer may require.
The law imposes time limits within which you must act. Don’t assume that your employer knows what has happened to you. Report it the incident to a specific person and make sure you know who that person was. The law requires you to report the accident and your report gives you a chance to control the conversation about how you were injured and what you injured.
You must next request immediate medical care and attendance that is suitable for your injury.
If your employer delays or denies your request for medical care -get it yourself.
This isn’t so much legal advice or observation as it is a common sense approach. If you have sustained an injury to a part of your body, you need a prompt medical assessment of the nature and extent of that injury. You need a diagnosis and opinion from a medical professional as to what the treatment course, if any, should be.
Finally, comply with and follow through with the instructions given to you by your employer, and your doctor. If you are directed to the emergency room or a clinic, go there promptly. If you are advised to contact a specific department within your employer or to contact a specific insurance company, do so immediately. If you are scheduled for a medical evaluation, attend it. As Attorney Eric T. Kirk will tell you.
Maryland workers compensation law provides that benefits are to be delivered to injured workers in a prompt and automatic fashion. Unfortunately, that is not the case..
