If you have been injured at work, there are certain steps you need to take to ensure your benefits.
You were injured on the job in Missouri and don’t know what to do next. Even if you don’t think the injury is serious, you never know what might happen. Small injuries, such as bumps on the head, may lead to further issues. The one thing you should know is that you’re not alone. St. Louis workers compensation attorneys have been dealing with workplace injuries and insurance companies for decades and are here to help you.
Contact Your Supervisor Immediately
The first thing you should do is tell your supervisor about your injury. When you do this, your employer is legally required to contact their insurance company and provide them notice. Even if the injury seems minor at the time, don’t take any risks. Your rights are at stake. If you don’t check in with your supervisor within thirty days of your injury, you may lose your right to receive benefits. Also, it’s easy to argue that an injury was minor if you didn’t tell anyone about it and continued working. Workers compensation law in Missouri also covers diseases and sicknesses caused by the nature of your employment as well.
Get Medical Attention
You have a right to receive medical care after reporting the injury. You know best if you need medical attention. If you need to see a doctor, tell your employer and don’t take no for an answer. Your employer or insurer is required to choose what doctor you see. If you go to your own doctor, you may not be eligible for compensation. So your employer doesn’t have a preference, demand that they make a choice, otherwise, they may be able to argue that you went to a doctor on your own.
Know Your Rights
You have many workers compensation rights as an employee that are guaranteed by law. For example, you may be able to receive compensation for long distance travel required to see a specialized doctor. In addition to compensation for your medical costs, you may also be able to receive cash benefits if you are temporarily or permanently unable to return to work. There are also many programs available to help rehabilitate injured workers so that they can return to work quicker and programs to help you find temporary work while you’re recovering from an injury.
Contact an Attorney
There are many implications of a workplace injury that are easy to miss. While it is true that not every workplace injury calls for a lawyer, if you go at it by yourself, you may quickly realize that the insurance companies, and maybe even your employer, are not on your side.
If you were injured on the job, there are steps you need to take now. Make sure you contact your employer as soon as possible and visit the doctor of their choice. Remember, the best way to know and ensure your rights is to contact a St. Louis workers compensation lawyer. Work injury lawyers specialize in this particular area of law and let the insurance company know you take your rights seriously. We know their tricks and how to get the best results for you.
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How to Prove That You Were Really Working When Injured
In the state of Missouri, any employer that has more than five workers or operates in the construction industry is required to carry a type of insurance called workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation insurance is a type of coverage that seeks to compensate anyone who is injured while they are working. If you are at work and get hurt, that does not, however, necessarily mean that you are entitled to collect benefits under workers’ compensation insurance.
Although not based on negligence, there are other conditions that need to be met for an injured worker to be eligible to receive workers’ compensation. You do not have to prove that your employer did anything negligent that led to your injuries like you would for a personal injury case, but you do have to prove that you were actually working within the realm of your assigned duties.
What if an insurance company is questioning my claim?
There are times when an insurance company will try to deny your workers’ compensation claim by examining specific things like what you were doing when you were injured. You can be solely responsible and negligent to collect workers’ compensation, but you have to be engaged in work-related activities when your injury happened, and if you weren’t then you aren’t eligible for benefits.
What is work-related activity?
To collect workers’ compensation you have to prove that you were working under the scope of your employment when you got hurt. That means that you have to be doing something that is both required by the terms of your employment and is also under the authority of your employer. If you are doing anything outside of those things, then it is possible for an insurance company to deny your claim.
What if the insurance company is questioning that activity?
If the insurance company is questioning what you were doing when you were injured, it is critical that you contact a St. Louis workers’ compensation attorney to defend you. If you say anything to the insurance company to indicate that you were doing anything other than work-related activity when you got hurt, then that could be grounds for a company to deny you compensation.
An insurance company is like any other business – it’s out to make a profit. This means that it is their job to question every claim. You need to be able to prove that you were actually injured at work.
What are ways that you can prove that what you were doing was work-related?
The best way to prove that you were engaged in work-related activities is to involve any eyewitnesses of the accident. They can testify to what you were doing when you got hurt. If there was no one around, you should have filled out an incident report with your supervisor that can be entered as documentation to support your claim. You can also ask the physician who treated you to testify to how the injury happened. It is absolutely vital that you create this paper trail in order to prove your injuries.
Contact the Law Office of James M. Hoffmann
If you are being questioned about what you were doing during your work injury, it is a good idea to hire a St. Louis workers’ compensation lawyer. The insurance company asks questions for a reason, and it is almost always to find a way to deny a claim. Make sure that you have someone in your corner to defend you and to give you guidance on what to and what not to say.