Getting hurt at work could be both physically and emotionally traumatic, particularly when you suffer a serious injury that may negatively affect your life for months and potentially years. During an incident like this, you may understandably have a lot on your mind, but one step you should absolutely be thinking about is what you can do short term to protect your financial and personal best interests in the long term.
There is no substitute for guidance from an experienced workers’ compensation attorney when it comes to proactively and effectively enforcing your rights after suffering an on-the-job injury. However, it is crucial to understand what to do after a workplace accident in Tulare County when you want to give yourself the best possible chances of financial recovery.
Unless they are unconscious or in need of immediate emergency care, the first step any Tulare County worker should do after being involved in a work-related accident is to notify their supervisor at work of the accident and of any physical injuries they sustained no matter how small they may seem. Failing to do this could not only lead to substantial delays in getting workers’ compensation benefits but it could potentially be used by a claims adjuster or insurance provider as grounds to deny an ensuing workers’ compensation claim altogether.
Even when there is no immediate need to go to the emergency room to stabilize a serious or life-threatening injury, it is still crucial to seek professional medical diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible after a workplace accident. On top of ensuring that any as-of-yet-undiscovered injuries are identified and addressed, this will also produce important documentation about the nature of the work-related injury that could be crucial evidence in any workers’ compensation claim. It is worth noting that California employers are required to cover initial medical treatment for any worker who files a workers’ compensation claim.
It is essential to get copies of any medical reports, bills, prescriptions, and treatment recommendations from doctors after a workplace accident in Tulare County. Depending on the circumstances, it may also be important to find and preserve evidence establishing that an injury was in fact work-related.
Individuals injured in a Tulare County workplace accident will almost always need to initiate the workers’ compensation claims process themselves by filling out a claim form and submitting it to their employer relatively quickly after their accident occurs. Employers are supposed to provide copies of this form to every injured worker who reports an on-the-job injury, but they are also available online from the Department of Workers’ Compensation (DWC).
Even when you know the steps you should take after getting injured at work, executing that plan quickly and effectively might be harder than you expect. At every stage of the workers’ compensation claims process, assistance from dependable legal counsel could be key to not only maximizing the benefits you ultimately receive, but often to getting any benefits.
If you have further questions about what to do after a workplace accident in Tulare County, our seasoned attorneys could answer them during a confidential consultation. Schedule yours by calling our firm today.
