Workers compensation is designed to cover your basic needs after a workplace injury, but it can open the door for so many other protections and provisions. From getting on a fast track to social security to laying out an argument for a lawsuit, you can prepare a lot of options while recovering from your injuries and not burdened by workplace duties. To understand the potential gains that can come from an otherwise unfortunate situation, consider a few of these planning points after a workplace injury.
You Need The Same Evidence For Everything
Every compensation system has specific forms and procedures, but they're all based on the same sets of information: medical proof and financial need. You need to show that you actually have a problem, that the problem was caused by a specific event, and that you actually need and deserve the compensation.
For every compensation system, your best action would be to get multiple medical opinions. Don't leave everything up to the workers compensation-hired medical professionals; even if you're at a local hospital that you'd go to anyway, how can you be sure that they're on your side? It's rare that a conspiracy begins to turn down all claims and make your problems look less severe, but it's relatively easy to be safe with someone else's opinion.
To get the right kind of evidence, you need a legal professional who knows what compensation systems want, along with medical professionals who know how to write compensation-friendly reports. Providing healthcare and providing documentation are two different skill sets, and knowing the exact language that compensation systems use to determine whether a condition deserves compensation is not a standard skill.
Don't Sign Anything Without Legal Advise
A lot of paperwork will be coming your way as you handle your workers compensation claim.
If a workers compensation insurance representative or someone from your company approaches you with paperwork to sign, read it carefully and consider getting legal assistance. You could be signing away your rights, and although some predatory contact techniques can be thrown out in court, it could lead to needless legal and administrative costs for you if you don't avoid it in the first place.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to read over something you sign, and you should be especially wary of someone who is in a rush. Nothing--not even personal emergencies--require you to sign immediately. They can simply handle their other business while you read the paperwork on your own and come back later. If that's a problem, both you and possibly the person doing the rushing may be feeling some illegitimate pressure to sign something shady.
Politely, calmly decline and contact a work injury lawyer. Your workers compensation claim needs to be crafted carefully and exported to other systems such as social security disability, personal injury law, or even Veterans Affairs disability just in case.
