If you have been injured while at work, you need to report your injury to your employer as soon as possible. Your employer is obligated under Georgia law to be insured against injuries in the workplace and pay you workers’ compensation benefits. However, reporting a work injury in Norcross is necessary for compensation.
However, your employer and their insurance provider will do what they can to avoid paying the benefits that are due to you. This is because it will cost them money.
If you find yourself in a position where your workers’ comp has been denied by either your employer or their insurance carrier, you need to call a Norcross workers’ comp lawyer.
Contact the Workers Compensation Lawyer Coalition at 470-518-5026 today to avoid your workers’ compensation claim being denied in the first place.
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When Must I Report My Workplace Injury In Norcross, Georgia?
By law, you have 30 days from the date of your injury to report it to your employer. If you don’t report it within 30 days, then your employer and their insurance carrier are no longer obligated to pay you workers’ comp benefits. Any medical care that you receive prior to reporting your injury may also not be covered by your workers’ comp claim.
It is highly recommended to report your injury immediately or as soon as possible after it occurred.
Who Must I Report a Workplace Injury to?
You need to report the injury to your direct supervisor or manager. If they are unavailable, then you must report it to someone else with authority within the company or organization you work for. If the company or organization you work for has an HR person or department, you should also report the injury to them.
When you report your injury, you may be asked to do so in writing or to complete an incident report. This will provide a record of the report as well as details about the incident that caused the injury and the injury itself.
You are not required by law to provide any recorded information of your report. Information on the report can be used at a later date to dispute your workers’ comp claim.
If you are being pressured into completing an incident report or providing a written statement, then you need to call us today.
However, it is important to keep your own record of the incident and your injury so you don’t forget the details as well as the date of the injury, when you reported it, and to whom.
What Are the Responsibilities of Your Employer After a Workplace Injury?
Your employer is required to provide urgent medical assistance to any employee who has suffered an injury in the workplace. This can be in the form of first aid for minor injuries or calling emergency medical services in the case of a serious injury. Serious injuries are those that result in the loss of a limb, loss of vision, or require hospitalization.
Your employer must inform their insurance carrier of the injury at least 7 days after you reported it. This will start the claims process. The insurance carrier will investigate the incident as well as the injury to ensure that it is compensable. This basically means whether or not your claim will be awarded or denied.
Your employer is required to offer you “light duties” until you are able to return to work in your full capacity. Light duties may be in the form of reduced hours or avoiding tasks that could aggravate your injury.
Your doctor must clear you for light duties. If you feel that you are not ready to return to work even on light duties but are being pressured to do so, contact a lawyer. You will receive partial benefits while on light duties.
Your employer is required to pay for your medical care as well as income benefits while you recover from your injury and are able to return to work. Income benefits ensure that you are receiving a portion of your wages and do not suffer a loss of income while you are recovering.
What Are the Employee’s Responsibilities After a Workplace Injury?
As an employee, the most important responsibility you have is to report your work-related injury. If your employer doesn’t know that you were injured, they cannot contact their insurance carrier and start the workers’ compensation claims process.
You are also required to choose a doctor from a list that will be provided to you by your employer. This list is called a panel of physicians and provides doctors who are authorized by the insurance carrier to provide treatment. If you don’t use a doctor from the panel of physicians, your workers’ comp benefits will be denied and you will have to pay for your medical bills yourself.
You must follow all instructions from your doctor. If you don’t, then it can seem as if you are attempting to delay your recovery or returning to work. Your benefits can be denied if you don’t comply with treatment and care instructions.
You are required to return to work as soon as you are able. Your doctor will tell you and inform your employer or their insurance carrier that you are cleared to resume work either in your full capacity or on light duties.
If you feel that you are not ready to return to work, then you can ask for a second opinion from another doctor on the panel of physicians or request an independent medical examination.
If you feel that you are being pressured to return to work before you are ready, call our team at Workers Compensation Lawyer Coalition immediately to find out what you should do.
Call Us When Reporting a Work Injury in Norcross, Georgia
Getting injured while at work can result in losses such as medical expenses and no income due to the inability to work while you recover. Your employer is required by law to compensate you for these losses. But in order to receive workers’ compensation, you must first report the injury to your employer.
Don’t assume that they are aware of the injury and inform your direct superior (supervisor or manager) that you have been injured as soon as possible.
Contact the Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Coalition today if you have not yet reported your work-related injury or if your claim was denied for any reason.
